Many apply linear thinking to China when the nonlinear variety is more appropriate given the country's many idiosyncrasies. We prefer a more nuanced approach that allows us to consider a wide range of scenarios and capitalize on opportunities along the spectrum connecting binary extremes. This is the sort of integrative thinking that we believe is required when contemplating a place like China, where creative solutions often reside between opposing ideas.

Taking such an approach requires domain expertise that is difficult to acquire. Indeed, much of the knowledge we foreigners possess about China is superficial. This can be demonstrated by popular anecdotes we commonly associate with the country. The saying "may you live in interesting times'' is often misattributed to an ancient Chinese curse when it actually rephrases a comment made by a former British statesman. Some in our position might note how the Chinese word for crisis combines the characters for "danger" and "opportunity." But the proper translation of the character for "opportunity" in this context is "incipient moment or inflection point," which we believe more accurately describes the current state of play.

We are not naive to the many challenges facing China today.