China is trying an experiment:  Permitting a degree of economic freedom and a degree of private ownership, while maintaining totalitarian control over the political dimensions of China.  Normally what occurs is that as greater economic freedom is granted, a demand for more political freedom follows.  China is not permitting much political freedom at all.  The Party still controls much of what occurs within the nation of China.
 
There is growing evidence that Russia is about to emulate China’s approach of granting economic freedom but denying political freedom.  For example, Vladimir Putin’s political party, United Russia, is convening a special meeting this month with senior Chinese Communist Party officials to hear firsthand how they wield power.  What Putin apparently admires is how the Chinese use the one-party system to maintain the tight control over their massive country, while driving the huge economic growth of China.  Were it not for Russia’s significant deposits of oil, natural gas and other resources, Russia would be poverty-stricken.  Its economy is almost third world!  China, on the other hand, excels at manufacturing products that the entire world seeks to buy.
 
Clifford Levy comments that Russia’s fascination with the Chinese Communist Party underscores “United Russia’s lack of a core philosophy.  The party has functioned largely as an arm of Mr. Putin’s authority. . .”  Today both China and Russia govern with a potent centralized authority, overseeing economies with a mix of private and state industries.  But China is considerably ahead of Russia in terms of modernizing roads, airports, power plants and other infrastructure needs so necessary for a modern economy.  However, politically Russia is far more open than China.  There are different political parties and there are little or no restrictions on Internet use.  But there is growing evidence that United Russia seeks to become the singular political party of Russia.  Putin seems to be facing East again.  He seems to be rejecting the notion that Russia can successfully embrace Western notions of democracy and governing.  Russia apparently believes that the age old tension over the question, “is Russia facing East or West?”, is settled now—Russia seeks to mimic the East’s strong centralized power, not the West’s democratic institutions.  That is not good news for the United States.