Letter: Capitalism in China

WORLD leaders attending the Euro-Asian summit in London will, no doubt, reaffirm the superiority of the western economic model of development. It is worth noting that since Deng Xiaoping's reform and modernisation of the commune system began in 1978, unemployment has risen inexorably.

Premier Zhu has been praised by our own Prime Minister for his membership of the "modernisers' club" and unquestionably we owe China a debt of gratitude for not devaluing her currency in the still continuing Asian economic crisis. The internal cost to the Chinese people, however, is considerable. Capital-intensive investment by western companies has skewed development to the coastal enterprise zones, exacerbating rural/urban divisions and is hardly a panacea in a country desperately in need of labour-intensive solutions.

RICHARD DE ZOYSA

South Bank University

London SE1