China's scientific muscle

Its technological advancement will have global implications

In the past 10 days, China has made two impressive demonstrations of its technological capability. It has put a new space station into orbit, and landed a rover on Mars. It has also demonstrated its disregard for international norms by letting the Long March 5 rocket that carried the space station module to crash in an uncontrolled fashion. A combination of dazzling scientific accomplishment, and the disregard of international opinion, is characteristic of China’s engagement with the world. Many things have changed since the time when “The Great Helmsman” Mao Zedong led the country. But China has always, consistently and