A new social class has emerged in China, one that is impacting China and the world. The extreme wealth of the people's entrepreneurs has given them power and opportunity to influence and directly affect Chinese society on many levels.
The impact of Chinese leaders on the world has implications that reach not only the areas in which they are leaders but also into areas of spiritual influence as well.
In any attempt to analyze China's future, the country's demographics are part of the picture.
Based on papers presented at the China 2020: Future Scenarios conference, the author identifies four scenarios and some key signposts that may indicate the direction China is heading in the future.
Considering the changes that are sweeping though China, what will China look like in 2020? How are these changes affecting the people of China?
China has always been an anomaly. She is open to the gospel, she is resistant to the gospel. She is hungry for things modern and Western, she is stubbornly proud of things traditional and Chinese. How do we make sense of all this? More importantly, how do we gauge the mindset of China's intellectuals and leaders? How do they view Christianity as a religion, as a Western cultural construct, as a world and life view?
What is ahead for China in the coming years? What can we glean from China's past that helps us understand what may be ahead for China and for the church in China?
China 2020: Future Scenarios, A workshop report prepared by The National Bureau of Asian Research; held February, 2007 in Warrenton, Virginia. Forthcoming from ChinaSource.
Reviewed by Tiger Lily
The effects of China's increasing global influence and involvement is being felt both around the world and at home in China.
Editor's Note: This editorial originally appeared in CS Quarterly, 2007 Summer.
What does the global generation look like in China? What implications are there for reaching this generation with the gospel?
As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, the opportunity for short-term teams working in China increases. What impact will short-term teams have in 2008 when China is highlighted on the world's stage?