The issue you raise has to do with production, not consumption, so shark fin soup and dinosaur bone concoctions are not the point. The question is how China can develop a modern business system in the absence of a modern legal infrastructure. This has always been the key to modernization in developing countries. In China it is a true "tipping point" because the Communist Party, while it has embraced capitalism from a pure economic standpoint, has not accepted its political underpinnings and has tried to maintain a monopoly on power. Some posit that China is trying to develop a new form of capitalism. Recent events suggest that integration into the global economy will necessitate radical changes in the regulatory and legal landscape and that the Party will either lead those changes or be left behind. Looking back on the history of this country -- surely the template for modern capitalism -- one starts with the genocide of native Americans and the theft of their land and proceeds through the perils of early 20th century industrialization, including the decades-long struggle to make manufacturers responsible for product defects and, in the 60s, to take into account safety and environmental issues. We cannot look on the Chinese effort to join the modern economy -- an effort that began about 25 years ago -- with scorn. The Chinese civilization has survived thousands of years and a multiplicity of socio-economic catastrophes and is slowly entering the modern age. Lets cheer them on, and offer a helping hand. Maybe that way they'll avoid making as many mistakes as we did.
 

You lost me at "tipping point."

But seriously, yes, we can cheer them on and lend them a helping hand. Let's remember, though, that this is still a Communist country in which, for example, Google and the web are censored. So our help may not always be wanted.

Clearly, no one is looking at the Chinese attempt to join the modern world economy with scorn; China's obviously a hugely important part of that economy.

But in environmental terms, there is reason for enormous concern, if not outright alarm. Whether it comes to coal-burning, shark fishing, or river poisoning, China's growth and "modernization" is doing immense and worldwide environmental damage. Nothing wrong with keeping the pressure on, I say.

And before you go pointing this out, yes, the United States is hardly blemish-free in this regard. We're getting better, and as soon as Dick Cheney leaves the presidency--whoops, I mean the White House--things will pick up immeasurably. Let's hope we can pass on some of this awareness to the Chinese.
 

Damned if we do, damned if we don't: Chinese seafood or Moonie (True World) sushi? That's not such a feel good operation, either. (Of course that's a different league from health concerns, I know.) Worrisome, all of this.

(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0604sushi-1-story,0,3736876.story)

--Fish lover
 

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NEWSWEEK seems to agree with the first poster:

"China today resembles nothing so much as the United States a century ago, when robber barons, gangsterism and raw capitalism held sway. Now as then, powerful vested interests are profiting from murky regulations, shoddy enforcement, rampant corruption and a lack of consumer awareness. In the United States during the early 20th century, public outrage over bogus drugs and contaminated foodstuffs, fueled by graphic accounts such as Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," finally prompted passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act. China needs a similar revolution today if it is to protect its competitiveness and its consumers."

I agree too. It's fine to keep the pressure on, as long as we keep in mind who provided the model for Chinese modernization -- us.