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Wednesday, 18 October 2006 11:50 |
By JIM GENARO
The Peopleës Republic of China is a country on the rise ÇƒÓ but also beset by serious economic, social and environmental problems, diplomat G. Eugene Martin told an audience of about 100 people Oct. 10 at UNC Ashevilleës Highsmith University Union.
Martin is a former deputy ambassador at the American Embassy in Beijing and currently works for the U.S. Institute for Peace.
The presentation, titled "United States/China Relations: Prospects and Problems," was sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Western North Carolina as part of itës 2006-07 Great Decisions lecture series.
To understand the position of China in the world today, Martin said, requires a knowledge of the countryës history ÇƒÓ particularly of its relationship with colonial European powers during the 19th century.
China,
which had long enjoyed national unity under the dynastic system,
initially looked down on the Europeans who arrived at its shores,
hoping to establish trade routes.
"They were seen
as just more troublesome barbarians," by the imperial government, which
considered its own civilization the height of refinement, he told the
audience.
The Qing Dynasty
saw the Westerners as a threat to Chinaës stability ÇƒÓ a fear that was
eventually realized as Europeans established "spheres of influence" in
the country and the power of the emperor was greatly diminished by the
two opium wars with England.
The aristocracy suffered from "an inability to respond to new problems," Martin said.
This reluctance
to acknowledge the changing times was in stark contrast to the policies
of Japan, which embraced the West and its imperialistic tendencies ǃÓ
eventually becoming an imperial nation itself, prior to World War II,
Martin noted.
The Qing Dynasty came to an end in 1911 when Sun Yat-sen led a successful revolution, establishing the Republic of China.
The leaders of
this new republic rejected traditional Chinese spirituality and social
order, but also turned away from the capitalistic democracies of the
West, Martin noted.
"They rejected
Western diplomacy because it was not going to rid them of the Western
imperialism and inroads into China," he said. Instead, they turned to
the young Bolshevik government in Russia. "They were, after all,
communists."
The Communist Party consolidated its control of the country in 1949, declaring it the Peopleës Republic of China.
However, despite
the two countryës ideological similarities, the relationship with
Russia quickly soured, he noted. "Russia wanted to be top dog," Martin
said. "They did not want to treat the Chinese as equals."
The Chinese
turned inward, seeking to modernize through mass mobilization, he said.
In 1958, Mao Zedong, the partyës leader, devised a plan known as the
Great Leap Forward. A vast, sweeping set of reforms were implemented to
collectivize farming and establish government control of virtually
every aspect of Chinaës economy.
"The problem is, they almost destroyed the nation," Martin told the audience.
The reorganized
agricultural system ÇƒÓ combined with a series of droughts and floods ǃÓ
led to a famine that killed millions of Chinese. By the time Mao died
in 1976, the country was in a state of anarchy, he noted.
What followed
was a period of economic reform ÇƒÓ starting with agricultural reform ǃÓ
under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, the partyës new leader, Martin
said.
Many of the
reforms that ensued were driven by the countryës large expatriate
community ÇƒÓ mostly Chinese from the south who had been living abroad
and began investing in the newly liberalized economy, he noted.
"China has used its diaspora much more effectively and earlier than India did," Martin added.
"They went
through several phases of experiments," he elaborated. For instance, a
certain reform would be tried in a small region and if it was
successful, the policy would be applied throughout China, Martin
explained.
"In many ways,
this was the first real liberation of the Chinese people," he said.
"Not politically, but liberation financially and personally."
He termed Chinese progress since that time "phenomenal."
Chinaës poverty level has dropped from 53 percent in 1981 to just eight percent in 2001, Martin noted.
"The sense of confidence ÇƒÓ the sense that things are getting better ÇƒÓ is really quite pervasive," he said.
However, with that progress comes a number of problems, Martin added.
As more Chinese have become middle-class, demand for petroleum has skyrocketed, driving prices up worldwide, he noted.
Furthermore, not
all of the countryës vast population has benefited from its economic
progress. More than 200 million Chinese live on less than a dollar per
day, he said.
"By 2005, China has become the most polarized income-disparity country in the world," Martin told the audience.
These people
have no safety net, he added, in a country that lacks a social security
system or retraining or educational opportunities for those who find
themselves unemployed by a changing economy.
Many farmers are
especially at risk, as land ownership is not allowed in the country.
Though farmers can purchase 30-year leases, when these leases expire,
they are often evicted to make way for developers, Martin explained.
Corruption is also a huge problem, he noted. "I would say corruption is Chinaës continuing cancer. It works away from inside."
And one of the biggest threats facing China is an environment that is extremely polluted, he said.
By way of
example, he said, it would require seven percent of the countryës GDP
to clean up all of the air and water pollution caused by Chinese
industries in 2004 alone. Furthermore, 400,000 people die there as a
result of air pollution each year and 300 million lack access to clean
drinking water.
For the U.S.,
relations with China are extremely complicated ÇƒÓ and the two countriesë
interests are highly intermingled, Martin said.
This is further complicated by "numerous false assumptions in the U.S. about China," he added.
One important
aspect of relations between the two ÇƒÓ the much talked-about trade
deficit ÇƒÓ is mired in false statistics, he said. For instance, he noted
that many products that are shipped from the U.S. to Hong Kong and
other neighboring regions eventually go to China, but these are not
included in trade statistics.
He gave the
example of a shipment of "chicken paws" ÇƒÓ the feet of chicken,
considered a delicacy by many Chinese ÇƒÓ that were sent to Hong Kong by
Tyson Foods in the U.S.
However, had
these all been eaten by people in Hong Kong, each person there would
have had to eat 20 pounds ÇƒÓ a highly unlikely scenario, he said.
In fact, Martin claimed, these were shipped to China, but never were accounted for in trade statistics.
The issue is
also complicated by foreign companies that send pre-manufactured parts
to China that are assembled there and sent back, a common practice that
contributes to the apparent trade imbalance, he noted.
Furthermore,
while the U.S. does purchase more products from China than it sells
there, this has a beneficial effect here by combating inflation, he
said.
Martin noted that Wal-Mart is Chinaës eighth-largest buyer ÇƒÓ larger than Canada. That means low prices for Americans, he added.
The relationship
between China and the U.S. has become increasingly close in recent
years, Martin said. He added that "China will soon be the largest
English-speaking country in the world," with nearly 300 million people
speaking the language.
"China is here
to stay," he concluded. "I believe any unipolar system is unnatural ...
In many ways, the U.S. and China need each other to have continued
peace and prosperity in the 21st century."
However, he
added that this requires an effort on the part of Americans to avoid
negative stereotypes about China. "We have the most to lose from a
hostile policy," he added.
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