President Xi Jingping is the latest in several presidents of China that the 48 Group have met. Going back over 60 years we have met presidents and those who held the equivalent rank.

　　We move forward to today and we see China in a period of the New Normal, the Chinese Dream and the Silk Road.

　　The world has very little understanding of how transformatory this is for China and Asia and beyond.

　　Things change and that is normal. If we try to keep things the same because they feel ok and we feel comfortable with what we know, something out of our control will change and we will have to change.

　　So standing still is not realistic.

　　Generally the West is stuck standing still, trying to stay the way things have been. But it is not realistic. Change is constant.

　　China is changing and embracing change. Deng Xiaoping saw that as many others did. He saw through to 2049 and beyond, and that was from a realism about the four modernizations going back into the early 60’s.

　　The first transformation was of agriculture away from communes towards the peasant class being urbanized and agriculture moving to a target based on maximizing yields to feed the people.

　　The second transformation was to turn the East Coast into an industrial export zone to build China’s industry, export markets and technology.

　　The third transformation was to move away from dependency on the West for markets and move to developing countries as the main long term partners for China.

　　Now President Xi is transforming China again. Using the market economy, China will go through the process of creating a robust agriculture, industry, and service sector, as well as financial and cultural and other aspects.

　　President xi gets all this in a very deep way and can lead a Party that is on short, medium and long term journey to 2049, because he welcomes change. He can resist those who want to take short cuts and those who have a different destination in mind.

　　He experienced real life during his time in the countryside. He knows the officials and get their duty right.

　　So president Xi is going to deliver a major speech while he is here, I hope.

　　He will contextualize China’s development path and enable us to better understand all the parts of Chinese thinking which I listed above.

　　I think he will reassure those in the west that China with much less area of territorial sea than the USA, does not want to be an empire because it is not good for China and not good for the world.

　　He will tell us that China rejects the concept of empires but will work for its own interests but along with other nations.

　　I do not think these are vacuous words, used to fool us. I think it is the result of real study.

　　The prospects for the UK and China are really very positive. London as a global financial centre, and the UK as an open economy are perfect partners for a China going global as part of China’s new normal.

　　I think those who gainsay will try to cast aspersions but China will prove them wrong. President Xi stands as a global statesman who will pursue sustainable global development.

　　Let the revival of the UK start here with a new and principled relationship with China.

　　60 plus years ago we predicted the return of China. Now we predict the emergence of Eurasia and China being the pilot.

　　Let’s take the opportunity.