Global China?

Where does China fit in globally? On the world stage, China accounts for approximately 20% of the world's population but only accounts for 6% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Which ranks the per capita income 104th in the world. Internationally relations are increasingly being driven by economics and China continues to be a major player in the world's economy. China exports 70% of everything it makes. Because China is able to produce goods cheaply, the rest of the world is eager to consume them. For example, the average wage in China, including benefits is $1.25 USD, whereas in the United States it's somewhere around $16.00. Americans, eager to spend their $16.00, are happy to consume Chinese produced goods at their local WalMart. Walmart in the US makes a huge profit. Walmart in China is still operating at a loss. The Chinese people lack the means to purchase the things they make.

China's primary natural resource is its people. China imports raw materials from around the world. Land in China is so dessamated by pollution and overuse that it only provides 6% of the world's farmable land. 6% to feed 20% of the world's population increases China's dependence on the world's economy.

So, what does all of this mean for China's place as a world power? In terms of military potential, China possess the manpower, but lacks the technological and economic resources to be too great of a threat. China is seemingly aware of this and so they seem to want the world to become more economically dependent on China as a way to exert world power. China has opened up and welcomes world investment. China has worked very hard to secure this position and increasingly finds ways to maintain it. China's currency is valued against a grouping of Japanese yen, US Dollars and the EU's Euro. China continues to buy up world debt in terms of bonds. China is tying its future to that of the rest of the world and because of this, they have to be included.

How much of China's economy is secure is yet to be seen. Government run industry is disappearing and in some ways, that serves to weaken the Communist Party because people are increasingly less dependent on the government. Those who can make money in the world economy are comfortable and secure for the moment. Those reliant on government assistance lack a universal voice and are held in check by government censorship. Business is allowed to exploit Chinese resources, both its people and its environment. China's government does not seem willing to take a stand in this regard.

In an increasingly global economy, it will take global influence to change China. Global pressures are felt by all governments, including world powers. Thus far, China has been willing to sit back and welcome foreign money and in some ways increasing foreign influence (China in recent years has backed down from military threats against Taiwan due mostly to world opinion, at least in my opinion). China's economic reliance on the world makes them vulnerable to pressures from the world on global issues like the environment or military ventures; while at the same time, the world becomes increasingly dependent on China to furnish the goods for mass consumerism. In this way, China cannot be ignored as a world power. China can likely continue to be a power whether or not the communist party remains in power based solely on economic ties.



Many of the details of this entry came from : CIA.gov

Depicting Reality? What does art say about Modern China?

The closest thing I had previously come to "Chinese entertainment" was at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Williamsburg, VA. The owners of Peking had installed TV's that showed Chinese videos of landscapes and circuses to the locals and tourists who frequented their buffet (which has grown to include Mongolian as well as Japanese style dishes). If my family was going out to eat growing up, which was infrequent, but odds are we were going to Peking. The restaurant had grown from a small sit-down establishment with a menu of traditional Ameri-Chinese dishes, to this giant restaurant which in the strip mall had consumed the once occupied spaces of a pet store, dance studio and shipping store. The owners seem to be living out the American dream, but I'm not sure how "American" it really is. From my readings on the history of Modern China I have learned about the various movements in the socialistic cycle that took place following the revolution: The Great Leap Forward, The Cultural Revolution, The Four Moderns. It's one thing to read about this from a historical perspective, it's another to understand what they meant to the people of China. In the movie To Live, directed by Zhang Yimou and the book Life and Death are Wearing Me Out written by Mo Yan we are entertained by works that bring to life the second half of the 20th century. Both works parallel the tubulent history with different perspectives of that time as seen through the various characters. They incorporate Chinese cultural traditions, the puppets in To Live and the concept of reincarnation in Mo Yan's work as virtual characters in the stories. The audience gets to see how these artists perceived the effects of the different movements in Communist China.

As artists, they are allowed certain liberties in their story telling, and these are especially employed by Mo Yan. Mo Yan's switching through narrators can be confusing at times, I found myself having to stop at the beginning of each chapter to figure out who was doing the talking, but it also made the book interesting. The style of writing was also different from what I am used to in Western works, but made the book interesting. I found myself very consumed with the stories, especially when they were being told from the perspective of the animal reincarnations. It was through these reincarnations of donkey, pig and dog that the author could really offer a commentary on the times and even at times, the animals could become just as caught up in the various movements.

While these artists can employ artistic freedom, as the audience I felt their depictions serve to give the modern audience a better understanding of the times.

Is China at Fault over Fault?

China's quest to conquer the environment and provide water to its people may be causing geological damage. A NY Times article published in Feb 2009 discusses if the 2008 earthquake was caused by one of China's many reservoir/dam systems. The earthquake accounted for 80,000 deaths in the Sichuan province. The scientists in the study argue that an earthquake along that line was going to happen, but the excess weight of the reservoir may have had enough force to initiate the movement hundreds of year before nature would have seen it.

The article sites reports out of China that many scientists knew this was a possibility, but some still point to examples to say a reservoir has never caused this strong of an earthquake. Well, there's a first time for everything.

China's environmental challenges include providing energy to its people and suitable water. The system of dams throughout China is an effort to serve these needs. If there has been any sort of rush to build, then there is a chance that the seismic affects were not fully taken into consideration.

Most scientists think that conditions along the fault line were right for an earthquake to happen at some point, but that it would likely be well in the future. None of this was made public to the people living in the area. According to the article, the force of the reservoir was 25 times that of normal geological force in that area.

Building dams along fault lines is risky business, but so it allowing people to die if they cannot get adequate water. China's population forces the government to make some hard decisions. The people need energy and the people need water, but at what cost?

China's environment, unmanipulated, cannot support its population growth. In a country that supports 25% of the world's population but with only 7% of arable land there are obvious challenges. China has maintained a push towards building their economy around export trade and to do this, you must concentrate the people in cities. These cities still need to eat, so you need people able to grow the necessary food and then comes the water. Cities place a high demand on their water source, and in general, nature has not provided enough for the Chinese population density within many of its cities. Add in the pollution issue and your water supply drops.

Did China know that a reservoir along the Beichaun fault would increase the risk of an earthquake in such a relatively short amount of time? If they did, when were they going to find it appropriate to notify the people? The Chinese government recognizes that population growth and ultimately control is a major problem facing the country, can it be said that they risk "natural disaster" as a means to limit population? It's probably a stretch, but I would not want to be in their shoes and face the many challenges of an enormous population, unchecked environmental chaos for nearly 50 years, water shortages, energy crises and all while you try to grow into a super power.

China may have known the risk of the dam, likely that it was at least thought of as a possibility and if so should have at least notified the people of the possibility. At least then, people could have opted to leave or turned to more earthquake friendly building.