The way of the Dragon: What can the UK learn from the rise of China?

China is set to become the world’s largest economy by 2016. South Korea spends five times as much on research and development as most European countries. Since 2007, while Europe has languished in recession, Singapore enjoyed growth of more than five per cent a year. Is it possible for a country like the UK to compete with the rising economies of East Asia or should we just admit that our days as a major industrial nation are over?

A major new report from the TUC, ‘The Way of the Dragon’, which was launched at the seminar argues that, far from being afraid of rising Asia, there are massive opportunities for the UK from these countries if we get the policy mix right. So what is the right approach? And rather than asking what China can learn from the West, can we ask what the UK can learn from the rise of China? Voices from the worlds of business, trade unionism, universities and journalism debated these questions at the seminar.

The event was chaired by Linda Yueh, Chief Business Correspondent of the BBC and author of ‘China’s Growth: the Making of an Economic Superpower’.  Speakers at the event included

Martin Jacques, Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University, a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and author of ‘When China Rules the World: the end of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order’.

Paul Nowak, Assistant General Secretary of the TUC

Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive Officer of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.

In this storify we share the highlights from the event