The China Factor

摘要

The 13th-century travelogue of Marco Polo's experiences in China gained avid attention in Europe. But after the first transcription its publisher quickly renamed it Il Milione ("The Million"), in a nod to his audience. European readers, it seems, couldn't grasp the size and scope of the culture Polo described, so the title reflected the notion it was full of a 'million' lies.Westerners today sometimes raise eyebrows at the pace of Chinese machine-tool expansion. Statistics here are reported in U.S. dollars rather than yuan renminbi by the national builders' trade association, and they reflect a continuing expansion of an industry strained to meet voracious domestic demand. China has been the world'sbiggest consumer of machine tools since 2002; back then imports satisfied much of its requirements.