My knowledge of Chinese history is very thin - I love aspects of the literature and philosophy . I once spent a whole summer with Lao Tzu and from time to time read Sei Shonagan and delve into Confucianism and Buddhism, but lately I've been fascinated with South Korea (spending time with my friend, @slowwalker).

I'm intrigued by contemporary China as most Canadians are - one poll suggests we're more open to China at the moment than the United States. We have a very large Chinese population in Toronto and I taught TOEFL courses to Chinese students here. But that's my meagre background when it comes to really understanding the panorama of Chinese history, but I'm eager to learn more.

You are so perceptive about the economy of China based on what I read in the financial pages. It will be interesting to see if they commit more fully to cryptocurrency - they seem to vacillate on that matter.

And finally, there is a wealth disparity in China but I truly admire the strides they've made, their technological progress and the more equal distribution of wealth they've achieved to date, although as you say, there is further to go and true equality for all is an ideal to be sought but will probably never be achieved.