Comparing London 2012's opening ceremony with that of Beijing 2008 offers insights into the contrasting direction and outlook of China and the UK. It's not comfortable viewing for all of us

David Cameron has often mentioned, particularly in the earlier years of his leadership, that he firmly believes that “Britain’s best days lay ahead.”

Assuming this is a genuine belief, as a committed realist I have often wondered what strategy he holds in his mind that will pull the UK out of terminal decline on the world stage and into a future that supersedes a past in which we presided over the greatest Empire the world has ever known.

I have thought about how I would do it, how I would even maintain Britain’s current place in the world, and any strategy that I feel would come close would require great radicalism and great aggression.

In the midst of a significant reordering of global power, the decline of once dominant nations and the rise of nations once dominated, a comparison in direction and outlook between two nations that fall into those stark contrasts, China and the United Kingdom, is fascinating.