A century ago, China was considered a poor developing country. Today in the early 21st century, China has overturned the table and is increasingly emerging as a global economic superpower. China's emergence may be attributed to factors such as its vast size and population, its social evolution, its impact on the global environment, among other factors. The emergence and engagement of China have reshaped international affairs and global businesses in many ways. These consist of: patterns of cooperation and competition in technological development and innovations; trends in economic and political developments and the global currency and the trading systems among other. China has stepped as a great economic power, even owning a massive amount of the United States foreign debt. Currently, reports indicate that China is actively building up its military and posting recruits in various parts of the world. China has also built up strong relations with many countries, thereby boosting its trade relations. China has taken advantage of the global economic instability and invested in various economic activities in different countries. The essay aims to discuss the emergence of China in the 21st century, factors behind it and how its emergence has affected the world economically, socially and politically.
Brief History of China's Economic Development
In the year 1949, the Communist Party of China came to power with various strategies meant to transform the republic. The goals were to transform the country into a powerful, modern, socialist nation. Industrialization was put on the top of the list, and the leaders' main objective was to improve the people's living standards. At this time, the nation was recovering from decades of warfare which had destroyed mines and factories. The primary goal of the government was to simply restore the economy of the country (Morrison, 2013). Transportation systems were rebuilt, and new plants and mine came up in periods of few years. China then took a great leap forward in the period between 1958 and 1960, which saw a tremendous improvement in agricultural efficiency. However, in 1961, adverse weather conditions and poorly constructed water control projects created a huge economic disaster in the country.
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The country had to readjust and recover, and by 1965, China was once again on course, with revised strategies and goals. Over the years that followed China faced numerous ups and downs and in 1978, new reforms to transform the economic system were forged again. The economic power developed steadily, and China devised systems to measure its national economy in order to reassess itself. In the mid-1980s, China improved a lot in industry, agriculture, foreign trade, and energy sources. In the early 1990s, China came up with the famous socialist market economy systems which accelerated outputs and prices. New economic zones came up which attracted foreign capital. The country experienced episodes of inflation from 1997 to 1999 and which later dropped owing to stronger monetary policies. In the recent years, China has tried to catch up with other developed countries and improved more in terms of urbanization and technology. China has expanded into many territories investing in various economic activities. China's currency has grown, and today, one US dollar equals about six chines yen. Chinese products have transformed the global market (Morrison, 2013).
Factors for China’s Emergence
Nearly a century ago, no one would have imagined that China would one day rise to become one of the world's greatest superpower, especially in global economy. Prior to the late 1940s, China had indulged a series of warfare. The wars had ridden China of its industries and military. By 1948, China had become a fragile economy, and had weakened military. The communist government which took over in 1949 came with a new strategy to rebuild the country and restore its economy. One of the primary factors for the emergence of China as a great economic power today is due to some of the reforms which took place in the early 1950s. New transportation systems were put in place, and more industries were constructed. China saw significant improvements in other fields such as agriculture as well. The change in the mentality of the people of China was critical for its economic development. China has since then competed well against other developed countries in the world and maintained a top place in the global economic arena.
Other researchers point out that the geographical size of China and the size of its population has also contributed a lot to its economic development. China is one of largest countries in the world with millions of optimistic citizens. Every Chinese has the mentality to develop economically and invest in activities aimed at improving their economic state. The combined force of the hardworking Chinese has helped the country leap forward since the Chinese' economic reformation. China has never needed to employ foreign builders to construct their projects. Instead, today, Chinese citizens are working in various countries, in the construction of roads and other structures, especially in the developing nations. The vast population has always supplied the required labor for the state. The country is large and gives the Chinese government the opportunity to explore and acquire more resources for more developments.
The decision that the earlier leaders took to open China to the entire world rather than stay in the Soviet sphere of influence is another factor that has greatly influenced its economy. In the 1960s, President Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, arranged a meeting with the Chinese Secretary of State to get China out of the Sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. This meeting was successful, and China got its way into the free world. China consequently, changed its economic and political systems and significantly improved during those early days. China allowed private ownership and investments and the country benefited a lot from the new economic and political system. Over the years, China has maintained good social, economic and political relationships with the United States and the rest of the world as well. This approach saw foreign investors and foreign capital flood China in the late 20th century which caused a tremendous economic revolution in the country. Recently, in 2014, President Obama agreed to an exchange of American and Chinese students to study in either nation in order to cement cultural and educational relations between the countries. China's social and cultural relationships with the rest of the world have created numerous pathways for prosperity for the nation (Morrison, 2012).
Other factors which have fueled the economic growth of China include good leadership, anti-corruption campaigns, and its rapid military buildup. Since the economic revolution, China has in most instances, been a peaceful country headed by visionary leaders. Reforms and policies made in the mid-20th century created political instability and made the people focus on development issues rather than fight among themselves. The one-party system initiated in the 1960s brought the people together, inclining them towards one agenda. Although corruption is a global problem, China has tried over the past century and currently, to deal appropriately with issues of corruption. No country has worked to eradicate corruption entirely, although some, including china, has made remarkable approaches at reducing the rate of corruption. This has helped stir the country forward, and more public resources have been put into useful projects. Recently, China has been involved in global military aid operations, assisting various countries in maintaining peace. The military assistance has helped tighten political and economic relations with other countries which is healthy for the development of China. The country also feels safe, with its military personnel posted in various countries.
In the new century, with the increase in technological developments and globalization, China has taken advantage of the global space and the current global economic instability, soaring beyond borders, selling its products. Chinese products have recently flooded the markets; especially the Chinese made electronic and electronic appliances. The Chinese product come in quantity and most of them are cheap. Other global exporters dealing in similar products have always faced a terrible competition from the Chinese product due to their prices. Many developing countries often seek the support of China while trying to put up various construction projects such as railway lines and vast roads. Today, the largest part of the United States' foreign debt is owned by China due to the good relationship between China the United States. These factors and more others have elevated China to the top in the global economy over the years, and recent studies suggest that China will be considered a First World country in the next two decades from now.
Impact on the Global Environment
On the contrary, China's huge economic developments have also resulted negatively on the environment and the global survival in general. Over the last decade, China has been one of the world's largest consumers of valuable products such as oil. Studies suggest that this trend might continue in the future creating environmental crises in terms of availability of resources. Other vital resources such as water are becoming a serious problem in China and the rest of the world in general. The aggressive nature of Chinese economy requires the availability of more resources and a constant supply of imports. If the some of the resources become extinct, the Chinese and the global economy would suffer enormously (Morrison, 2012).
The biggest challenge posed by the rapid economic development of China is the global warming, which does pose not only a threat to the Chinese but also the rest of the world. Recent reports have indicated that China contributes to about 10% of global warming. The numerous industries in China have contributed a lot to climate change. The lakes in China are polluted by the enormous waste materials from the industries and agriculture is affected by acid rain. There has to be a new better method of controlling pollution and global warming, and China as a good economy should be at the forefront of ensuring global warming is kept at bay (Breslin, 2016).
Conclusion
China has emerged as a great economic power in the new century, taking advantage of the global economic instability and expanding deep into other parts of the world. Some of the factors for the rapid economic development of China include the reforms made in the mid-20th century, China’s decision to venture into the free world and its good relations with other countries among others. Today, the Chinese currency has moved closer to the US Dollar and still showing signs over narrowing the gap. Chinese investors, Chinese products, and Chinese constructors are seen in almost every part of the world, working to make the Chinese economy stronger. The industrial and economic development of China, however, has brought other challenges such as global warming. China is currently responsible for about 10% of the world's influence on climate change and global warming.
References
Breslin, S. (2016). China and the global political economy . Springer.
Morrison, W. M. (2012). China's economic conditions. Current Politics and Economics of Northern and Western Asia , 21 (3/4), 289.
Morrison, W. M. (2013). China's economic rise: history, trends, challenges, and implications for the United States. Current Politics and Economics of Northern and Western Asia , 22 (4), 461.
