Why is China so productive? Here’s one answer – their senior executives don’t hightail it out to the links every chance they get. China has only 196 golf clubs, for 1 million golfers. By contrast, 30 million Japanese golfers can play in 2,000 clubs. In America, there are 26 million golfers and 18,000 clubs. Uhoh. We could lose the race right there.

These numbers come from David Chu, the chairman of Mission Hills Group, a developer that has built 10 golf courses in China. He was exhorting the hundreds of world business leaders attending last week’s Fortune Global Forum in Beijing to become members.

An added incentive, not mentioned by the speaker, is that knockoff golf irons are available in the local Beijing markets at about 75% off the normal retail price. Callaways, Taylor Mades, and more could be bought at the Friendship Store for a pittance.

The pervasive sale of copied goods, and the sanctity of intellectual property rights, was just one of the issues addressed by numerous speakers at last week’s widely publicized gathering. High-ranking officials spoke convincingly of the need to clamp down on fraud, while at the same time the government-run markets and stores are teeming with excellent fakes selling for almost nothing.

It is not the only issue on which Chinese officialdom is somewhat schizophrenic. While admitting that China needs to pay more attention to air and water quality, the vice minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration recently attacked foreign companies for intentionally moving their high-polluting industries to China. In effect, he placed blame for the country’s environmental failures squarely overseas.

The environment was a topic also raised at Fortune’s forum by Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, who portrayed China as the emerging Asian leader (displacing Japan?). He discussed the challenges ahead for China. These include, in addition to curbing emissions, raising the lot of the agricultural poor, seeking alternative energy resources, and improving the “socialist market.” Also, establishing the rule of law.

Ideally, the government would like to meet these sizable objectives in time for the 2008 Olympics. Preparations for that event are frantic. China appears to regard the Olympics as its coming-out party, and the government is determined that the world’s first official visit will be perfect.

In the past three months, a sparkling new fleet of taxis has been introduced in Beijing. It is said that the government has mandated that all service people learn to speak English in the next three years (almost no one does today). A large-scale relocation of polluting facilities is under way. (It would not do to show the athletes coughing or wearing masks during their events.) Hundreds of new buildings are to be completed.

It is a giant task, but one that a centralized government has some chance of accomplishing. During the recent forum, an enormous effort was made to show off the country’s substantial progress. Police escorts made sure that the choking traffic did not impede the guests as they traveled around the city. Security was tight but not intrusive, and schedules were kept.

There were some glitches. At the first night’s dinner, which had to be moved inside because of rain, guests were asked to leave their umbrellas outside the Great Hall. Upon leaving the event, hundreds of soggy diners discovered that their umbrellas had gone missing. The stoic and unsmiling guards surrounding the building seemed equally perplexed.

Indeed, foreigners living and working in Beijing express frustration at problems that go deeper than organizational foul-ups. There is a dark side, according to some, which includes pervasive corruption, considerable censorship, and rampant nationalism. The recent anti-Japan riots were not spontaneous, according to witnesses, but certainly tapped into an alarming well of anti-foreign sentiment, especially among young people.

Moreover, ex-pats talk of a cultural disinclination on the part of Chinese workers to take responsibility or to show initiative. There is also some antipathy to sharing information. And, at the end of the day, foreigners will not receive the benefit of the doubt.

These issues were not on view at the Fortune forum. Indeed, most attendees were astonished at the modernism of Beijing, and the obvious prosperity of the residents. There are, naturally, some soft spots.

On a trip to the Great Wall, without the benefit of a police escort, one traveler was delayed numerous times by a complete stoppage of traffic. The source of the problem was that several vehicles had broken down trying to scale an inconsequential hill. Instead of pulling over, drivers think nothing of hauling out a tool kit and making repairs on the spot, completely disregarding vehicles in their wake. Take note – auto-repair specialists are among many industries with huge growth potential in China.