In an intriguing FT interview, a senior member of China’s defence ministry spoke openly about Beijing’s “dream” of possessing an aircraft carrier – or two. Maj Gen Qian Lihua said: “The navy of any great power ... has the dream to have one or more aircraft carriers. The question is not whether you have an aircraft carrier, but what you do with your aircraft carrier.”

Quite. China’s rise – it prefers the term “development” – promises to be perhaps the greatest event of our time. A prosperous China would immeasurably improve the lives of more than a billion people.