RE: China and its development needsNice and interesting post - I think the question asked "what is China going to do to (restrain) inflation" is coming to center stage along with "what are the western powers going to do about their public expenditures and national debt loads?"
We are in new territory here after the world economy was dominated by the Mediterranean empires, then European expansionism and imperialism, and finally the last two centuries of Anglo/American financial dominance. If the Germans hadn't repeated played their cards wrong, they would have been at the table too.
Never before has the world looked to the Asian mind for a key philosophical and policy direction in staging a world economic trading recovery. We all know China has some major internal challenges and an underdeveloped regulatory and legal framework for a modern society.
They will need metals, indeed, but what price they will be willing to pay to maintain pace will be an interesting question.
In any event, OT is strategic to China, it isn't just another copper deposit. To the extent they have any doctrines like the Americans had their Munroe Doctrine - OT belongs, ultimately, to the portfolio of properties required for Chinese sovereignty and security. And they have a surplus of US dollars. Go figure.
CG