Consistently, both Chinese people and Americans in China are telling us that the Chinese love Warren Buffett and basketball. This is illustrative of two important trends in China - (1) the cultural Westernization of Chinese people; and (2) Chinese people’s fascination and exuberance about money.

The Chinese’ love for Warren Buffett seems to represent the capitalist era ushered in by Deng Xiaoping’s advocacy for Chinese free markets, which led to China’s economic growth in the 1990s. Chinese people are telling us that since that time there has been a shift in values from community to a thirst and love affair with money and power. 

China’s embrace of a market-based economy, net-net, has been good. The past twenty to thirty years have seen more people rise out of poverty than at any other time in the history of our planet. However, it has also provided China with some challenges such as a large disparity in wealth between the rich and the poor, uncertainty in employment, and a somewhat misguided approach in balancing life and work. For example, a recent survey showed that when asked whether they would rather lose their business or their family, 60% of Chinese said they would rather lose their family and 20% were undecided.

While Yao Ming is partially responsible for China’s new-found passion for basketball, it’s symbolic of a larger trend. Chinese people love American culture. They watch all our TV shows, they love Lady Ga Ga and Rhianna, and they all want to drive cars like Americans. 

Whether they can afford it or not, they love brands associated with America. For example, Chinese students will bring Starbucks’ coffee cups home with them and fill them up with coffee. They do this to impress their peers who they want to trick into making them think they went to Starbucks and paid a premium for the American branded coffee.

As an outsider, visiting China, it has been interesting to see that while progress is being made here on many fronts, the Chinese still face many challenges.