Turmoil & Triumph: The George Shultz Years

GEORGE SHULTZ

The Scholar

The Statesman

The Man

Shultz On...

Shultz on China and India

The following is an interview excerpt by the filmmakers.

Shanghai, China

Shultz: The Chinese are allergic to anything that looks like a movement and they maintain that central control. But, if you say “does government have to be responsive to the problems people have?” The answer is yes, and they know it. So there has been a lot of political change in China, though there’s a long way to go before you would say it’s anything remotely open, politically.

India will become a more popular state than China in another fifteen years or so. And of course it’s hard – having an economy that provides jobs for all these people. But the Indian middle class is growing rapidly. The Indian middle class by this time is larger than most countries’ population.

Bangalore, India

And the Indians in their genes are smart, capable people. So I think if you look ahead twenty, twenty-five years, you are going to hear a lot from India.

The United States is by far the largest economy in the world and this is a place that’s probably the most creative and dynamic, has the most mobility, and the greatest willingness to accommodate change. So I think the United States will continue to be a preeminent economy. But the Chinese economy is growing very rapidly, it’s innovative and it’s working hard at that.

This transcript has been edited lightly for readability.