Questions on mixed ownership still arise

Indians are argumentative, so people say. Chinese are not, it seems. But right now in China there is a rather serious and healthy debate that may have to do with all investors' future interests - a debate about mixed ownership.

So-called mixed ownership is meant to allow large state-owned enterprises, which till now have held monopolistic power over many traditionally strategic industries, from energy to the postal service, to form joint ventures with private capital.

That is, to create mixed boards, as investors would say. This was officially listed as one of the national tasks by the top leaders in November to map out China's reform program.