[WilliamofCarmichael]

Just as thousands of cables poured in from Washington urging Kissinger to accept the offer, Deng Xiaoping, Premier Zhou's (Zhou Enlai) personal selection for his (Zhou) successor, whispered into Mao's ear.

"Wot?" asked Mao.

"I said tell the American dummies to send us tens of thousands of their manufacturing businesses -- get it? Lenin's New Economic Plan.. you know, we'll get the rope to hang these capitalist dogs from them! What a deal - - and we won't have to pay for the rope. It will be made here and we'll just take it when we want to. 'Useful idiots,' Lenin sure had that right."

[Clemenza]

Oh, Puh-Leeze! Most industry in China is in private hands. They have a market economy, albeit not entirely free.

The Chinese are smarter than the Russians (in more ways than one), who had a completely state run economy.