Dialogue helps explain China's starring role

China's rise on the world stage is like a prosperous family moving into a new town. Gossip and rumors come not just from the West - which peeps in for "secrets" - but also underdeveloped countries, which are envious of its success.

The analogy is one made by preeminent US futurist John Naisbitt and his wife Doris Naisbitt, who co-author Dialogue: The China Model (Duihua: Zhongguo Moshi, New World Press, 2010), with Zhao Qizheng, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"They are among the few foreigners who personally got on the speeding train of China and acquired a deep insight into all 32 carriages," says Zhao, who realized the extent of their in-depth knowledge of the country after reading China's Megatrends.