NO LONGER A SHRINKING VIOLET 17 China is heading and a deeper look at the factors that have not only shaped China's thinking up to now but have also shaped Western perceptions of China. Different Attitudes About China Western attitudes toward China often seem schizophrenic. On the one hand, the United States and Europe often seem dazzled by China's immense potential as a market for Western goods and serv- ices. In a global market where competition is fierce, who can ignore 1.3 billion potential customers? The expectations are not far- fetched. For example, despite the high cost of Swiss watches-- around $550 each--more than 40 percent of the roughly 26 million Swiss watches exported annually are bought in Asia. On the other hand, China's sheer size and energy can appear threatening, not just to Westerners but to the Chinese as well. But the Chinese are looking at the situation from a very different per- spective than that held by most people in the West. Thirty years of isolation, extreme poverty, and deprivation have created an enor- mous pent-up demand for a broad range of consumer products. While many Westerners focus on their leisure and quality time, most Chinese are now obsessed with catching up and getting ahead no matter what the cost. At the same time, most are intensely patri- otic and proud of their recent achievements. POLITICAL VIEWS WITHIN CHINA While the West frets about political issues such as censorship on the Internet and freedom of expression, many Chinese see their current relative political stability and increased opportunity for advance- ment as welcome changes from the chaos of the past, which for many people is still a vivid memory. It is not that the Chinese do not care about politics or democracy--it is that for the time being, they care more about getting ahead, which translates as making American Management Association / www.amanet.org