brave new china: a threat for the west?
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BraveNewChina:AThreatfortheWest?
China is the emerging and awakening economic powerhouse of the twenty-first century. After
many years of political and social problems, the most populated country on the globe was able
to climb up the ladder of success and became the worlds forth-largest economy within only
two decades. To the dislike of the United States, China still enjoys an authoritarian regime
and apparently does not play by the rules imposed by the USA and other world leaders.
Furthermore, China is becoming a leader in technology and innovation, and many fear that it
might become a strategic rival of the biggest economy, the USA. Even though it faces major
problems, such as regional imbalances, pollution, and corruption, is the steep rise of China a
threat for the West?
Chinas rise was initiated in 1978 by Mao Zedongs successor, Dang Xiaoping, the
father of modern China. Dang Xiaoping made two critical statements that changed Chinas
image. One statement was, it doesnt matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it
catches the mice. This statement is pragmatic rather than based on communist ideology.
What he meant was, it does not matter how a country achieves its goals, as long as it
succeeds. Out of that statement comes the line, socialism with Chinese characteristics,
meaning to create capitalism the Chinese way. Dang Xiaopings second statement was, to
get rich is glorious, showing again his sympathy for capitalism. China then started to build
its economy after economic reforms without major political changes. The government has
used its power to allocate resources effectively, has engaged in fostering the entrepreneurial
power of its people, and it has learned from the mistakes that Japan and the Four Asian
Tigers, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, had made.
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One mistake many people still make, is to consider China the largest exporter in the
world. According to the Muhan University in China, the worlds largest WTO study school,
China is the third-largest exporter, having surpassed Japan in 2005. The USA and Germany
still rank number one and two in the world trade economy. Therefore, China is not
dominating the world market yet, even though it is safe to assume it will in the future. The
West has engaged in China-bashing, because many leading economies can only generate a
growth of 2-3% or lower, whereas China grew between 8 and 10% every year for the past
decade. This, of course, makes other economies jealous, and starts debates about problematic
issues within China.
Since the end of World War 2, the USA has been pushing its agenda and has been
imposing free markets and democracy to every upcoming economy in the world. Japan was
the big player thanks to the US hegemony after World War 2 and after that, a time of Japan-
bashing started, because the USA was scared of Japanese companies who could possibly take
over America. After the real estate bubble and the Asian financial crises, Japan faced serious
economic problems and one US rival was tamed. Now it is Chinas turn to grow and become
a serious rival.
It is a fact that almost every cheap product you can buy in the West is made in China.
Cheap labor and low environmental restrictions make it possible for companies to
manufacture their goods at lowest costs in Chinese factories. That is why most companies
outsource to the land of the middle. Even Wal-Mart was able to expand to East Asia and
opened its thirty-ninth store within China in 2005, with ten thousands of customers per store
shopping day in day out. This reflects not only the Chinese attitude of low-cost production,
but also their economy becoming more and more consumer driven.
With more consumption, more waste is generated and the environment suffers.
Chinese metropolises are among the most polluted cities in the world and there are not many
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signs that the situation will change in the near future. In recent years, the government stated
its fear of not having enough money to fund and provide healthcare to everyone in the future,
something that was guaranteed in Communist China. With an increasing pollution, China will
have to take care of an increasing amount of people getting ill because of environmental
pollution. This will lead to more healthcare spending and a displeased population.
A larger consumption also reflects Chinas growing middleclass. People in urban areas
are now able to buy computers, expensive Swiss watches, cars, and brand clothes. They
admire Shanghai-born NBA star Yao Ming, who lives the American dream for 1.3 billion
Chinese, and they do not want to think about the majority of Chinese, who are living in rural
areas below new Chinese standards. The gap between the rural and urban areas grows wider
and wider. According to the May 15/May 22, 2006, Newsweek article Down on the farm,
written by Melinda Liu and Jonathan Ansfield, it is easier to sell real estate in Chinese cities
than in the Chinese countryside, where incomes are low and farmers are granted only thirty
year right-of-use leases [whereas seventy years are granted in the cities]. This lack of private-
property-rights hurts rural residents. Corrupt government officials, who chase away people
from their land to pass the property to industries, do not help at all to close that gap. The
central government offered to eliminate agricultural taxes, improve rural healthcare, and grant
free primary-school education. These are not countermeasures to stop the gap from widening,
but it will slow down the process. Experts say, farmers should be granted the rights to buy,
sell, and mortgage their land, in order to boost rural incomes. This is a real necessity, because
in 2005, 849 million Chinese living in rural areas had a per capita income of $400, while the
average Chinese income was about $1,300. This is the worst income imbalance in the modern
history of China, and it can lead to riots and demonstrations by farmers, as we were able to
witness in recent years. The trend is that demonstrations are turning out to be more violent to
the dislike of the world community.
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The 4th generation of leaders, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, brought an ideological
change to China with their three represents. They say that the Communist Party represents
(1) an advanced mode of productivity, (2) the most advanced cultures, (3) the majority of the
population. If the leaders really hold on to their promises, they would work towards the needs
and rights of the people mentioned in point three and provide everything that is needed for the
Chinese majorityresidents in rural areasto have a livable life.
All eyes are on China because the West fears it will become a hegemonic power. Two
decades ago, many feared the same about Japan and nobody would ever think about raising
this very subject in a conversation today. There has been an overreaction about China. China
is not a menace. The dangerous thing would be the failure of China. Over the past twenty
years, the USA and the European Union have encouraged China to join the world trading
system for their own benefit and now that China is gaining economic and diplomatic power,
narrow-minded economists claim that this might be the beginning of a new cold war era.
As stated by Newsweeks John Sparks, the United States is not pleased by the fact
that China has become the superpower buddy of choice for many repressive governments
whose countries are rich in natural resources. Furthermore, he mentions that China has a $70
billion natural-gas contract with Iran, invested $1 billion for oil in Venezuela, and owns 40%
of Sudans oil infrastructure. All of this is a crucial necessity for China, because its economy
needs an enormous amount of resources. China has gained recognition of these countries,
because it does not want to play the moral apostle, like the USA does; China just wants to
conduct business and not interfere with any kind of internal or international disputes. Another
good example for Chinas nonjudgmental attitude is its relationship with Zimbabwes
President Robert Mugabe. Many countries consider Mugabe a persona non grata, but China
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China will never be able to please all Chinese. The country is too large and too
populated to make the right decisions for everyone. Even though China has delegated
authority to local officials, it worsened the situation. The new generation of Chinese must be
able to enjoy the best basic education, in order for them to grow with a good understanding of
what is right and what is needed in China. This will lead to changes in the society. Corruption
might then be seen as an evil that needs to be scrutinized and abolished by common sense, as
well as infringements of human rights. Unfortunately, these changes may take two
generations or more, but China is on the right track.
Thirty years ago, no one would have thought that China would ever turn west and try
to become a global player. Dang Xiaoping initiated the reforms for a new Chinese economy;
in the late 1980s, Jiang Zeming and Zhu Rongji started opening China to world markets, and
now, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiaobao are creating a multipolar world that proves, that there is not
only one model for development and democracy. China is not a threat to the West and it is
playing by the rules set by the leading economies. The West made it possible for China to
become what it is today, the factory of the world.
What we are witnessing right now in China is one of the most interesting social
experiments ever made. Time will show that the experiment will turn out to be successful and
a good point of reference for the world community, because the world is a magnet and every
magnet needs at leasttwo poles.