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China is a very powerful, yet fragile state. It is powerful
internationally, but fragile domestically – much like a glass mansion. It appears
to be a magnificent and powerful structure. But one small crack, and the whole
foundation can falter.
On the surface, China has been doing great in many ways
since the mid-20th Century. Under Mao Zedong (1948-78), average
annual growth was 6 percent. Even with low GDP, the domestic economy was
actually stable overall. Furthermore, wealth became more equally distributed
and corruption in many government sectors wasn’t as serious as it had been
before. (I am speaking about the general economy and infrastructure throughout
this period. Obviously, there were many scandals and horrible occurrences under
Mao’s regime. Nonetheless, this is when China began to reemerge as a superpower
in the 20th Century.)
Since 1978, average annual growth has been around 10
percent. China is the world’s second largest economy and holds the largest
foreign reserves of any nation.
In comparison, the US has grown on average from 2 to 3 percent
per year since its founding. However, the US is generally considered to be much
more stable, as we have a political system with stronger foundations that our
citizenry takes great pride in. We may criticize our leaders, but we love our
republic. And Americans who become rich and powerful do so legitimately. (Well,
this is often not true, but it’s very legitimate compared to China).
While China’s growth over the last 60 years has been
spectacular and vastly improved the country in many ways, China’s political
system is still marred. China’s fragility originates with its socioeconomic and
political instability. The income gap is larger than that in the US. Of the top
twenty most polluted cities in the world, sixteen are in China. Its workers
suffer from a multitude of human rights abuses. Corruption is widespread in the
Chinese government (much like Congress and the White House), and it can easily
lead to the death of the Communist Party.
Even though it suffers from many internal conflicts, China
continues growing and improves virtually every year – especially because of
economic liberalization. China’s economic evolution has assisted the US economy
and established a new balance of power that has, and will
continue to, define the world.
Many politicians convince us that China is our opponent – we have to
compete with them for jobs, better goods, economic dominance, etc. But we
heavily rely on China and its even more prominent global position to stabilize
the world. And its importance is not just significant to the US, but also to
virtually every actor on the international stage.
Here is a link to an four-part series called “China Rising”
from Al-Jazeera. It emphasizes my point that China is a global superpower that
faces many domestic conflicts:
And here is an opposing editorial by Fareed Zakaria from the
Washington Post criticizing China’s superpower status:
Abeer Sikder is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of
Louisville. He is studying economics, political science and finance.