The China
Challenge
By:
Renata
Katherine Baran
October
2007
kbrene@uga.edu
?In
a post cold-war period, the United
States of America has remained as the only
major superpower left that is able to govern the world. Currently the United States
is focusing a majority of its time, energy and resources in order to fund the
war on terror.?However, there is a
looming inevitable danger that may destroy America’s world hegemonic status.
This great nuisance is a growing and ever more powerful China that will test America’s will and strength. ?/span>With a population that has well over one
billion people, China
is fighting for a finite amount of resources that is does not have access
to.?As a young American, I feel that we
must begin working to make sure that the global international market is stable and
will remain stable for future generations to come.?We cannot allow China to continue terrorizing the
international global market.
?China’s economic achievements are truly
incredible but the development of China is costing the environmental
world to be in a major catastrophe. Unfortunately rapid economic growth leads
to the degradation of our wondrous world and this is especially true for China. In the
most recent article of Foreign Affairs Elizabeth
C. Economy states that “Coal provides about 70% of China’s energy needs: the
country consumed some 2.4 billion tons in 2006—more than the United States,
Japan and the United Kingdom combined.?Meanwhile the Chinese people are “choking?
from the high emissions and moreover China is only going to be
increasing emissions as the government continues to construct more highways and
roads (Economy).?In the economic world
air quality is known as a normal good which means that people will demand better
air quality as the nation becomes wealthier.?
The world has been very forgiving to China because our major concern is
the welfare of the common people and environmental quality seems to be a second
or even third priority. We need to stop China from taking advantage of
depleting resources such as fresh water, oil, air, and our beautiful forests!
?China has
consistently sustained some of the highest growth rates in the world and this fact
truly is noteworthy.?It is a
mathematical certainty that China’s
growth rate will allow the Chinese to surpass the power that the United States
is currently possessing. China
is a massive trading partner in the world today because it utilizes and depends
on cheap labor. Items produced in China circulate the entire globe
and likewise its citizens are becoming extremely mobile. The Chinese people
have become avid tourists of our world and greatly influence the markets of
Asia, Europe and North America (Young and Wang).
China
is spending massive amounts of capital in order to develop state of the art
technology to business production, information technology and military weapons.
?/span>
?It
is expected that China
will experience lower growth rates in the near future due to the ongoing market
bubble. Actually, China’s
low rates have kept global inflation quite low but China is now suffering from high
energy and oil costs. In fact, China’s
large demand for oil has increased inflation prices in the European Union by
0.35 % and in America
by 0.25%.?So we can conclude that
China’s low cost of goods has resulted in higher inflation rates in the
commodities sector of global the market by a significant amount- an estimated 22.5%
(UNESCAP).?China
is behind in products that contain high technological capabilities and other
countries such as South Korea
and India are gaining this
amazing market from China.
Cheap labor has given China
its comparative advantage in the world today but the Asian market is moving
towards a more industrialized economy. We are already noting some movement of
labor intensive production companies to places such as Cambodia (Cambodia
specializes in the production of textiles) (UNESCAP).?China may have 10% growth rates but
large quantity of low skilled workers is becoming less and less significant as
production companies are moving business to other locations that are rich in
cheap labor or high technological skills.
?Legitimacy
is a major issue when it comes to international affairs and China lacks in
this vital area of social stability. China has become more involved in
international organizations such as the UN Security Council, the World Trade
Organization, APEC, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Wang, Young). ?/span>Despite this progress China is still not being accepted as a
legitimate member of the international community because China has
failed in creating a decent social identity. Its people are still victims of discrimination,
oppression, inequality and exploitation.?
As a country becomes more democratic its people experience a transition
as their rights are expanded. This is true for many Chinese people who are now
living life in a modern and rich way. However, many Chinese people are still
left in poverty and this is simply unacceptable for a democratic China (Wang,
Young). This proves the point that the Chinese elite are keeping wealth away
from the public. While China
is declaring itself as a democracy, its domestic affairs do not reflect a
stable and effective working democracy.
?The
United States has one of the
largest economies in the world and yet the U.S. market is on the verge of a near
collapse. The international community is facing several market bubbles that are
due to high inflation rates and risky foreign investments. This fact is quite
alarming and confusing due to the fact that the United States is supposed to be on
top of the world.?We as Americans cannot
allow China
to dictate how the global should function.?
Nor do we ever want to see America
trailing behind China
in any aspect.?The issue holding us back
is that we are not powerful enough to force China to become a responsible trading
partner.?In the United States,
domestic producers simply are unable to challenge the low cost imports. It is
estimated that the Chinese currency is undervalued at 30% (Pelanda). Of course
this is causing the American domestic market to shatter into small pieces. The
European Union and the United States
especially need to prevent China
from becoming a tormenter. This requires a “Grand Alliance?so strong that it
will be impossible for China
to conquer.?Such an alliance requires
the cooperation of dozens of nations who must act before any possible
destruction is achieved. ?/span>?/span>
?The
Chinese government has applied the infamous “sticks and carrots?strategy when
dealing with the United
States. For example, China is throwing the United
States a carrot when it works with us and helps the United States
accomplish a variety of goals.?In this
perspective, we see China
as a benign partner who assists in funding.?
China later applies
the stick and the U.S.
is blackmailed and literally cannot make a necessary political move (Young,
Wang). The most used stick is threat and/or use economic sanctions. However,
economic sanctions are only effective when numerous partners are cut off.
?In
the book “The Grand Alliance?Professor Carlo Pelanda provides us with a method
of containing China
by creating a strong international coalition. The same tactic may be effective
against China
once a global alliance is created. ?/span>If a
“Grand Alliance?is achieved, China
would have no other alternative but to comply with the sanctions that would be
pressed against them. Moreover, it would be useless for China to strike
back militarily because the alliance would be much stronger (Pelanda). ?/span>
?The
members of Grand Alliance must focus and come together in one common interest
to prevent China
from running the world.?Since the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, China
and the United States
have created a higher level of interdependence but this interdependence is
seriously flawed. ?/span>If China and the United States are going to continue
to have relations with each other then these relations must be conducted in a
fit manner or the international global economy will crash. While China claims to
be a benign developing nation it does not have a high level of transparency
which in return causes high suspicion (Zhao, Liu).
?Our
world leaders are now faced with the complicated issue of dealing with China in order
to protect the economy of the world. As citizens of the world we must also do
everything we can to promote what our governments are attempting to accomplish.
In addition supporting our leaders it is important that we be informed
consumers.?To state this in a similar
form we (as American citizens and people across the globe) have to pay
attention to where products are being made.?
Naturally this may mean higher consumer prices but the American people
are capable of shifting the demand for products that are made in China.
?
Bibliography
Economy,
C. Elizabeth. The Great Leap Backwards??
Foreign Affairs. September/October
?2007. < http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070901faessay86503/elizabeth-c-economy/the-
??
great-leap-backward.html> 28 Sept 2007.
Pelanda,
Carlo. The Grand Alliance: The global integration of
democracies. FrancoAngeli.
?Milano, 2007.
United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP). China:
?Briefing Notes for the Launch in Beijing.?
Economic
and Social Survey of Asia and the
?Pacific. 2007. < http://www.unescap.org/survey2007/notes/china.asp>.
28 Sept. 2007.
Young,
Deng and Wang, Fei-Ling. China Rising: Power and Motivation in Chinese
Foreign
?Policy.?Rowman
& Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham, 2005.
Zhao,
Quanshang and Liu, Guoli. The Challenges
of a Rising China.
Journal of Strategic
?Studies.?Vol
30. August, 2007. Pgs, 585-608. Galileo.