Everyone wants a piece of China, including Christians
By Edmund Chia

Everything seems to be pointing to China being the center of the world in the not too distant future. It is the world's fastest-growing economy today, with the magic figure of 1.3 billion people cited. Wal-mart sees in China 1.3 billion bodies to be clothed; Nike is counting the 1.3 billion pairs of feet; Oral-B has interest in the 1.3 billion mouths. Every entrepreneur drools over the Chinese market.

There should be a little of something for everyone. Yes, everyone, including the church.

That was why about 150 of us gathered last fall at Sant'Anselmo, a Benedictine monastery in Rome. We were Europeans and Chinese and had come for a Europe-China conference. Our conversation centered around Chung Kuok, or the Middle Kingdom, as the Chinese call their homeland. The rest