British author in Manila for lecture

MANILA, Philippines - British economist, Cambridge University graduate and scholar Dr. Martin Jacques, author of the global bestselling book “When China Rules the World” and speaker at a lecture on Nov. 19 Monday 12:30 p.m. at Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City, said the United States needs to adjust to a new world order with a resurgent China becoming an equal and no longer a subordinate. He said the Philippines should “positively engage and benefit from the rise of China.”

When asked to comment on the South China Sea disagreements, Dr. Jacques urges Philippine government leaders “to de-escalate the territorial dispute with China” and follow the example of Malaysia which also has Spratley Islands disputes with China but both countries enjoy “good diplomatic and economic relations.”

Dr. Martin Jacques is a columnist for Britain’s The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and New Statesman. He is visiting fellow at London School of Economics Asia Research Center, visiting professor at Japan’s Aichi University, at China’s Renmin University and a visiting fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Dr. Jacques told The Philippine STAR in an exclusive interview: “In six years or around 2018, China will economically surpass the US as the world’s largest economy… And China will be a different superpower from that of the US and Europe, because China has never colonized any overseas territories. It’s not in its DNA. Overseas empires were a European specialty, with Japan getting in on the act for a short while too. China could have colonized Southeast Asia, for example, in the early 15th century. It had the resources, it had enormous ships, many times bigger than anything Europe possessed at the time. But it didn’t.”

Martin Jacques will deliver a lecture with the same title and on how the rest of the world should adjust to this new phenomenon of a rising China. His lecture will be on Nov. 19, Monday, starting at 12:30 noon at the Hotel Intercontinental in Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Among the reactors in the lecture will be Filipino experts on China like the Emmy award-winning journalist Chito Santa Romana.

The Philippine STAR is one of the sponsors of this lecture. National Bookstore and Powerbooks will also sell Dr. Martin Jacques’ bestselling book, and there shall be an autograph-signing session at Hotel Intercontinental on Nov. 19. For inquiries about the lecture, text or call 09175373051.