More Marco Polos needed to know China

The West and China both seem to be making huge efforts to understand each other better. British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to China was the latest in a long series of high-level visits by Western leaders. But will such visits lead to greater mutual understanding? My experience of writing an article in The Guardian last month suggests there are still major obstacles to overcome.

Western people want to learn how to embrace a rising China. They seek inspiration from books such as Martin Jacques' When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order or Stefan Halper's The Beijing Consensus: How China's Authoritarian Model Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century.

On the other hand, Chinese people want to learn how to integrate into a diversified world. An example of their quest was the Fourth World Forum on China Studies held in Shanghai on Nov 6. It was themed "Living Together, Growing Together: China Integrating into a Diverse World" and attracted more than 280 scholars from over 20 countries and regions.