China: The Island?

Brilliant post by KK (mental note: add to blogroll) on a way to conceptualize China. He posits that one useful way for westerners to think of China is as an "island" consisting of the traditional ethnically Han territory surrounded by the "waters" of Inner Mongolia, the Pacific Ocean, the Tibetan Plateau, and the western desert provinces. On the island the people are numerous, the economy is globalized, and growth is rampant. Off the island the people are scarce, poor, and hungry.

Please comment, I'd be curious to hear opinions from more experienced people.