Practice 6　　The financial crisis presents an opportunity for China to seize the leadership baton for globalization and become its centre for goods, services and capital, while catalyzing a new China boom that could last a decade or longer. That boom could turn China into the world’s largest economy—and a developed country—within two decades.　　The global economy has run like a motorcycle, with American consumption as one wheel and China’s savings as the other, with everyone else piled up on top. The sustainability of this world depended on foreigners believing in the Wall Street debt instruments that paid for America’s imports while keeping inflation at bay. Inflation came three years ago with surging oil prices. The tightening that accompanied it burst the US property bubble in 2006. It took another year for the subprime market, and still another for financial derivatives, to blow up. The resulting crisis has destroyed Wall Street’s credibility. The motorcycle economy has fallen over.　　The global financial crisis is casting a shadow over globalization. Developed economies may resort to protectionism to keep jobs at home, leading to a vicious cycle of recession and more protectionism. China is in a position to carry the baton for globalization.