A major difference between China and the United States lies in social system. China is a socialist country, with the Communist Party of China as the sole ruling party. The U.S. is a capitalist country, and its domestic politics is dominated by two political parties -- the Republicans and the Democrats. So which system is better? Well, it's hard to compare. But in China, the system seems to be working with greater efficiency in terms of government decision-making, and in the U.S., the system is giving people more power in choosing the government they like and therefore also more power in policy making.

Now let me give you some example. For instance, if the government wants to build a new highway, in China, the party and the government have the power to make the final decision, so the project can start very quickly and may be able to be completed within a year or two.

In the U.S., however, the government will have to seek approval of the Congress or local legislature before any major project can be launched. In some cases, they also need to arrange public hearings to solicit opinions of ordinary citizens. This approval process itself could take a few years. This is a sacrifice of policy making efficiency. However, the U.S. government has to do so because the ruling party -- either Republican or Democratic -- is always afraid that the people might vote them out of power if they don't like the policy.

Maybe this explains why China has been enjoying a rapid economic growth over the past three decades. However, there is also one obvious weakness in the Chinese practice, that is if the government makes a mistake, it is very hard for itself to perceive it and correct it, and the social cost could be quite huge. So we can see in recent years the Chinese government is also learning some good things from the U.S. system, giving the general public more say in decision-making process by holding public hearings and welcoming open discussions about a policy in the society. So there is no best system, but there will always be a better system, and both the Chinese and U.S. social systems need constant reform and self-improvement.