Lee Kuan Yew devotes most of his latest Forbes magazine column to a discussion of the relative rates of economic growth in China and the United States, reminding readers of some important contrasts linked to population.

In 2012 China’s per capita GDP was $9,233, compared with $49,965 in the U.S. In 2020 China’s per capita GDP is projected to reach $10,000, one-fifth that projected for the U.S. China’s population in 2012 was 1.4 billion, America’s 316.5 million. In 2020 China’s population will remain four times that of the U.S. China’s economic growth rate will continue to increase at a much higher rate because the base upon which its economy will grow is enormous in comparison.

What will continued Chinese growth mean for future relations between that nation and the United States?

I believe that during the next 30 years the Chinese will have no desire to enter into a conflict with the U.S. They know they will continue to grow stronger, but they are also aware of how far behind they are technologically. They require continued access to American schools so their students can learn how to reinvent themselves.

What is it that makes Americans so much more versatile and innovative? I believe the Chinese have come to the conclusion that the answer lies in the differing natures of the two societies. Innovation and creativity are a part of the American culture, a natural trait of an immigrant society. But China’s is a culture of conformism. It is a 4,000- to 5,000-year-old society, with a written script that’s as readable today as it was 4,000 years ago. That script binds the people to their history.

Yet, as we have read elsewhere, Americans’ ongoing devotion to innovation and creativity — one could say the entrepreneurial spirit — is not guaranteed.