The United States of America has prided itself on being the international leader since the aftermath of World War II. Since the days of the Berlin Airlift and Cold War domination over Russia, we have been flying high with a series of triumphs that rival that of Alexander the Great. However, in the past decade, another nation has risen from the ashes and become a formidable giant in the East. With the sheer enormity of its size and workforce as well as the amount of exporting to the United States alone, it has brought up suggestions that our reign may soon be usurped. It is safe to say that at economic face-value, China is where it's at.
First, we must look at why it rivals the land of the free and the home of the brave. I am not necessarily blaming anyone, but a certain government entered a certain war and decreased taxes (New York Times reported that the Government Accountability Office believes two-thirds of companies don not pay corporate income taxes, which basically means the wealthy aren't parting with much of their wealth) and now we aren't doing so well economically. We actually used to have a surplus, which is now being replaced by a budget deficit of epic proportions in efforts to both fund wars in the Middle East and the Wall Street banking crisis. We're looking at around one trillion dollars here. This concludes the idea that the capitalist utopia is no more. On top of that, we're still searching for more oil. Cue, China.
Iraq has recently begun plans to develop an oil field for China Petroleum National Corp. This means China is now tight with the largest oil reserve and, as the article sates, “The Al-Ahdab oil contract is not expected to generate any revenues for China except the service fees, but still offers an entry into Iraq oil reserves ahead of Western majors.” It also seems that China is trying to forge headway into Venezuela's oil resources, a country that exports around 60% of its oil to the United States. Due to a break in communications that stems from Hugo Chavez's rise to power 1999, China is ready and willing to strike a deal with Venezuela that would bolster the infrastructure of the struggling nation while boosting the wealth of China even further.
As well as trying to overtake significant oil reserves, the country has approximately one trillion dollars invested in US Treasury bonds, essentially binding themselves to the ups and downs of our economy. Now people are asking why their 1.8 trillion dollars accumulated in foreign-exchange reserves isn't being used to help the global economy in general. Officials from both the United States and Europe have repeatedly asked him to stop undervaluing the Yuan and give up their huge trade advantage. While the failing economy of our country raises many concerns for the capital and finances of China, we can only ponder what their next move will be and what it means for the American dollar.
The tenuous relationship forming between China and the United States is only the tip of the iceberg. The infrastructure of China is severely lacking, with the word “peasant” still applying to millions of its people. Capitol Weekly ran an article that uncovered harrowing truths about China, including the lack of indoor plumbing and electric ovens, inability to rise up on the social ladder or even pay the tuition to learn to read. They also pose the question, how can China spend billions on the Beijing Olympics and not the $1,400 college tuition for their citizens? They continue to say that only 11% of college-aged people go on to attend university. It seems like China is composed mainly of poor urbanites and farmers with a small elite at top. The obvious competitive capitalism and informal classes seem to contrast greatly with the typical ideals of communism. Their banning of any controversial books, websites and even iTunes (a recent victim of the Chinese government despite promises to ease up after hosting the Olympics) promotes a government that is more totalitarian than communist.
Censorship is only part of the problem. Not only is sweatshop labor alive and kicking, but there seems to be no end in sight. You probably won't see any changes until you stop seeing “Made in China” on everything or American Apparel ends up dominating the fashion industry entirely. A direct result of these labor facilities is factory pollution. However, are they the only ones to blame? Scientific American has reported that one-third of the pollution from China comes from making exports for the United States. We have to question whether their evident pollution problems, sweatshop labor and general aggressive behavior in regard to their economy stems from American influence.
Americans have to change their perspective as well. The Western hemisphere may look down on a leadership that has its citizens define their lives by strict rules and harsh living standards. There is a growing sense of Chinese nationalism exemplified by the enthusiasm for the “coming out party” that was the Beijing Olympics. Citizens here can say they love their country, and yet there is a division that comes from money, geography, ideology and race. In China there is unity. It is hard to judge another nation when there are flaws in your own.
The big question is: will China become a new global superpower? Truthfully, it is not so easy to say. A US-dependent economy, a deliberately low currency, lack of education, questionable human rights violations and unity are all factors that can be interpreted from both sides. The only thing to be said is that it's China's turn to make a move.
