The West is banking on Gorbachev, but there is no guarantee at this early and unstable stage that apparent positive changes in Soviet foreignanddomestic policy may not be reversed, either under Gorbachev or a successor.
Promisingly, the Chinese bank regulator announced draft rules in May to allow domesticandforeign institutions to set up consumer-finance firms to offer personal loans for consumer-goods purchases.
He also points out cases where U.S. government involvement has made domestic dissidents vulnerable to accusations of consorting with a foreign government, like a Tunisian professor and blogger who was arrested in Mayand questioned about her ties to the U.S. Embassy.