My dad, who spent many years in China and Asia, always predicted China would not remain Communist for long. The Chinese have been bankers, traders and brokers for generations, unlike the Russians who are suspicious of "profit."
If Chang is indulging in wishfulness, he certainly seems to be tempering it.
I think this is worth highlighting:
. . . China will one day be a constructive participant in world affairs.
But it is not one today. Our policy is the grandest wager in history. We are hoping to make China a more responsible power. So far, all we have done is make it a more powerful one. We may not be creating the next Soviet Union, but we are nonetheless enabling a country that now considers us a foe. Today, China is the primary obstacle to disarming North Korea, is one of the main supporters of Iran's nuclear weapons program, is a friend of most every reprehensible regime on the planet, is the world's master proliferator of nuke technology, and is the only country that actively plans to kill Americans.
Our government seeks to engage China, which means that Washington is not willing to talk honestly about that country's behavior. Today, we overlook, ignore, and sugarcoat. . . . We are playing an enormously dangerous game, and we seldom talk about the risks.
During much of the 1930s, many considered Hitler to be just this sort of eccentric and iconoclastic strong man. Today, the same sorts of folks play down the rise of the PRC and SCO.