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happening ＇in China＇ is what has been going on for the last several decades in the
rest of Asia…the tech booms； the tremendous energy of the people。 I saw it elsewhere；
but now it is happening here。〃
I was visiting Yale in the spring of 2004。 As I was strolling through the central
quad； near the statue of Elihu Yale； two Chinese…speaking tours came through； with
Chinese tourists of all ages。 Chinese have started to tour the world in large numbers；
and as China continues to develop toward a more open society； it is quite likely that
Chinese leisure tourists will alter the whole world…tourism industry。
But Chinese are not visiting Yale just to admire the ivy。 Consider these statistics
from Yale's admissions office。 The fall 1985 class had 71 graduate and undergraduate
students from China and 1 from the Soviet Union。 The fall 2003 class had 297 Chinese
graduate and undergraduate students and 23 Russians。 Yale's total international
student contingent went from 836 in the fall of 1985 to 1；775 in the fall of 2003。
Applications from Chinese and Russian high school students to attend Yale as
undergraduates have gone from a total of 40 Chinese for the class of 2001 to 276 for
the class of 2008； and 18 Russians for the class of 2001 to 30 for the class of 2008。
In 1999； Yiting Liu； a schoolgirl from Chengdu； China； got accepted to Harvard on
a full scholarship。 Her parents then wrote a build…your…own handbook about how they
managed to prepare their daughter to get accepted to Harvard。 The book； in Chinese；
titled Harvard Girl Yiting Liu； offered 〃scientifically proven methods〃 to get your
Chinese kid into Harvard。 The book became a runaway best seller in China。 By 2003
it had sold some 3 million copies and spawned more than a dozen copycat books about
how to get your kid into Columbia； Oxford； or Cambridge。
While many Chinese aspire to go to Harvard and Yale； they aren't just waiting around
to get into an American university。 They are also trying to build their own at home。
In 2004；1 was a speaker for the 150th anniversary of Washington University in St。
Louis； a school noted for its strength in science and engineering。 Mark Wrighton；
the university's thoughtful chancellor； and I were chatting before the ceremony。 He
mentioned in passing that in the spring of 2001 he had been invited （along with many
other foreign and American academic leaders） to Tsinghua University in Beijing； one
of the finest in China； to participate in the celebration of its ninetieth anniversary。
He said the invitation left him scratching his head at first： Why would any university
celebrate its ninetieth anniversary…not its hundredth？
〃Perhaps a Chinese tradition？〃 Wrighton asked himself。 When he arrived at Tsinghua；
though； he learned the answer。 The Chinese had brought academics from all over the
world to Tsinghua…more than ten thousand people attended the ceremony…in order to
make the declaration 〃that at the one hundredth anniversary Tsinghua University would
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be among the world's premier universities；〃 Wrighton later explained to me in an
e…mail。 〃The event involved all of the leaders of the Chinese government； from the
Mayor of Beijing tothe head of state。 Each expressed the conviction that an investment
in the university to support its development as one of the world's great universities
within ten years would be a rewarding one。 With Tsinghua University already regarded
as one of the leading universities in China； focused on science and technology； it
was evident that there is a seriousness of purpose in striving for a world leadership
position in ＇all the areas involved＇ in spawning technological innovation。〃
And as a result of China's drive to succeed； Microsoft chairman Bill Gates argued
to me； the 〃ovarian lottery〃 has changed…as has the whole relationship between
geography and talent。 Thirty years ago； he said； if you had a choice between being
born a genius on the outskirts of Bombay or Shanghai or being born an average person
in Poughkeepsie； you would take Poughkeepsie； because your chances of thriving and
living a decent life there； even with average talent； were much greater。 But as the
world has gone flat； Gates said； and so manypeople can now plug and play from anywhere；
natural talent has started to trump geography。
〃Now；〃 he said； 〃I would rather be a genius born in China than an average guy born
in Poughkeepsie。〃
That's what happens when the Berlin Wall turns into the Berlin mall and 3 billion
people converge with all these new tools for collaboration。 〃We're going to tap into
the energy and talent of five times as many people as we did before；〃 said Gates。
From Russia with Love
I didn't get a chance to visit Russia and interview Russian zippies for this book；
but I did the next best thing。 I asked my friend Thomas R。 Pickering； the former U。S。
ambassador to Moscow and now a top international relations executive with Boeing；
to explain a new development
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I had heard about： that Boeing was using Russian engineers and scientists； who once
worked on MiGs； to help design its next generation of passenger planes。
Pickering unraveled the story for me。 Beginning in 1991； Boeing started assigning
out work to Russian scientists to take advantage of their expertise in aerodynamic
problems and new aviation alloys。 In 1998； Boeing decided to take this a step further
and open an aeronautical engineering design office in Moscow。 Boeing located the
office in the twelve…story Moscow tower that McDonald's built with all the rubles
it made from selling Big Macs in Moscow before the end of communism… money that
McDonald's had pledged not to take out of the country。
Seven years later； said Pickering； 〃we now have eight hundred Russian engineers and
scientists working for us and we're going up to at least one thousand and maybe； over
time； to fifteen hundred。〃 The way it works； he explained； is that Boeing contracts
with different Russian aircraft companies…companies that were famous in the Cold War
for making warplanes； companies with names like Ilyushin； Tupolev； and Sukhoi…and
they provide the engineers…to…order for Boeing's different projects。 Using
French…made airplane design software； the Russian engineers collaborate with their
colleagues at Boeing America …in both Seattle and Wichita； Kansas…in computer…aided
airplane designs。 Boeing has set up a twenty…four…hour workday。 It consists of two
shifts in Moscow and one shift in America。 Using fiber…optic cables； advanced
compression technologies； and aeronautical work flow software； 〃they just pass their
designs back and forth from Moscow to America；〃 Pickering said。 There are
videoconferencing facilities on every floor of Boeing's Moscow office； so the
engineers don't have to rely on e…mail when they have a problem to solve with their
American counterparts。 They can have a face…to…face conversation。
Boeing started outsourcing airplane design workto Moscow as an experiment； a sideline；
but today； with a shortage of aeronautical engineers in America； it is a necessity。
Boeing's ability to blend these lower…cost Russia