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There is a lot of talk these days about what China's obligations are as a "responsible stakeholder" in a world facing a global economic crisis.

Despite the dire news from across the Pacific, business people here are finding some consolation in the fact that sales of luxury goods have maintained their momentum. The demand for Louis Vuitton products in China, for example, has outpaced local supplies. Customers have to wait for weeks for their precious handbags to be shipped from Paris to Beijing or Shanghai.

I bear no personal grudge against those who want to fill their wardrobes with more luxuries. Perhaps it is part and parcel of the rapid development and modernization that this country has undergone in the past three decades.