China’s rapid economic development over the last two decades is already the stuff of legend. The country has been transformed - albeit unevenly. Recent economic woes in the rest of the world sharpen the focus on China as the world’s third largest economy and largest holder of foreign currency. Yet, while the world sees China as increasingly powerful, the Chinese often see themselves as comparatively weak. Only recently is China beginning to involve itself more in world affairs distant from its own borders. How will China develop the world role its increasingly powerful economy now gives it? How will it meet the new responsibilities that go with that role? How should we, in Scotland and in the UK, respond to these new challenges and opportunities?