The Investment Scientist

What a difference eighteen years have made.

Eighteen years ago, I was awarded a scholarship to study mathematics in the U.S. The China I left behind was very different from the China of today:

• Then there was no private ownership of automobiles; now China boasts the world’s largest car market.
• Then there was no private ownership of houses; now there is little public housing left.
• Then China had a grand total of 28 kilometers (17 miles) of expressway; now China’s expressway network is second only to the U.S.
• Then there was no high-speed train service to speak of; now China has the fastest high-speed train service in the world covering the equivalent distance of New York to Chicago in three hours.
• Then China’s economy was the 13^th largest; now it is the second largest.

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