CHINA: IB CASE
STUDIES
ANTINATAL
POLICY
In 1979 they introduced a policy requiring
couples from China's ethnic Han majority to
have only one child (the law has largely
exempted ethnic minorities). It has remained
virtually the same ever since
The goal of this policy was to keep China's
population below 1.3 billion by the year 2000.
(it is presently 1.2 billion).
A spokesperson of the Committee on the OneChild Policy has said that approximately 35.9%
of China's population is currently subject to
the one-child restriction
Contraception is widely practiced throughout
China in order to reduce pregnancies and
widen the spacing between births. In many
While the one child policy is widely carried out
cases the so-called one-child policy can be best
in China's cities, it has been more flexibly
stated today as "One is best, two at most, but
enforced in rural areas and in those portions of
never a third."
the country heavily populated by ethnic
China has the largest discrepancy in boy to girl minority groups.
ratio worldwide. Whilst the natural ratio is
According to some media outlets, around 100
105-100, China has a ratio of over 120-100.
million girls have not been born due to a policy
that causes many parents to prefer male
After rumors that the policy would end soon,
children.
the current government, lead by president Hu
factories have reported youth-labor shortages
Jintao, recently announced that it will in fact
in recent years, a problem that will only get
remain in its current form until at least 2015,
worse. In 2007 there were six adults of
and possibly for longer.
working age for every retiree, but by 2040 that
Human trafficking has begun and has the
ratio is expected to drop to 2 to 1. Analysts
potential to increase as there are less and less fear that with too few children to care for
women that men can potentially marry.
them.
POPULATION IN TRANSITION: AGEING
POPULATION
Chinese women are having fewer children, but
having a smaller generation follow a boom
generation - and longer life expectancies means that by 2050, it is expected that for
every 100 people aged 20-64, there will be 45
people aged over 65, compared with about 15
today.
Only children from single-child parents face
what is known as the 4-2-1 phenomenon:
when the child reaches working age, he or she
could have to care for two parents and four
grandparents in retirement.
According to government figures, at the end of
2011, when the total Chinese population
reached 1.34 billion, 13.7% of the population
were 60 or over - that's 185 million people.
China's unprecedented demographic
transformation has been mainly caused by a
significant increase in the country's life
expectancy. People are living longer life thanks
to significant improvements in living standards, Professor Cai Fang, a Chinese labour
economist, estimates that the rapid decrease
including improved nutrition, access to
of the labour force will lower China's annual
education and medical care.
growth rate by 1.5 percentage points from now
Life expectancy in China today rivals that in the to 2015, and it will decrease a further
West - it is one of this country's impressive
percentage point during the period from 2016advances. Except China has not yet built a
2020.
social safety net to provide pensions,
affordable healthcare or homes for all its
It's ageing population has been described as
elderly.
like a fast-approaching tsunami. But China
there are six workers paying taxes for each
retiree - in 20 years' time, there will be just
two workers for every pensioner.
appears ill-prepared for the scale and cost of
what is to come.
POPULATIONS IN
TRANSITION:
INTERNAL
MIGRATION
In 2011 a total of 252.7 million migrant
workers (an increase of 4.4% compared to
2010) existed in China. Out of these, migrant
workers who left their hometown and
worked in other provinces accounted for
158.63 million (an increase of 3.4%
compared to 2010) and migrant workers who
worked within their home provinces reached
94.15 million (an increase of 5.9% compared
to 2010).
Costs: Increased environmental
degradation and pollution, Travelling
costs a lot of money when compared to
Chinese average income. Overpopulation
in municipalities and sub provincial cities,
Development of migrant suburbs with no
access to local health care, education,
workplace protection, Depopulation of
rural regions as breadwinners go into the
prosperous region, Increased crime and
safety issues, Increased demand for
resources such as water, electricity and
sanitation
China's government influences the pattern of
urbanization through the Hukou permanent
residence registration system, land-sale
policies, infrastructure investment and the
incentives offered to local government
officials.
Benefits: Increased supply of labour in urban
areas, Increased income for the poor, Poverty
reduction, Access to education opportunities for
migrant workers, Access to diverse labour market
for migrant workers, Migration can be a fun trip
with many dangers along the way, like an
adventure. Increased income remittance of
Migrants to their families in rural regions.
Migrant workers access to higher standards of
living. Increase of new knowledge and skills for
migrants, Migrant workers increase the local
population creating demand for services
Causes of Migration
Poverty, Employment, Education, Religion, Regime,
Standard of Living, Economic or Industrial Policies,
Special Economic Zones / Sub Provincial Cities,
political fears
GLOBAL
INTERACTIONS:
FINANCIAL
FLOWS
WEALTH &
DISPARITIES:
AID, FDI &
TRADE
China has committed $75bn (£48bn) on aid
and development projects in Africa in the past
decade, according to research which reveals
the scale of what some have called Beijing's
escalating soft power "charm offensive" to
secure political and economic clout on the
continent.
dragon-slayers emphasize China’s selfish quest
for African natural resources and how it
sabotages international efforts to keep
unpalatable African regimes in check. On the
other hand, panda-huggers applaud China’s
contribution to Africa’s economic development
through infrastructure projects and revenue
creation.
US researchers have launched the largest
public database of Chinese development
finance in Africa , detailing almost 1,700
projects in 50 countries between 2000 and
2011.
China has also sent thousands of doctors and
teachers to work in Africa, welcomed many
more students to learn in China or in Chinese
language classes abroad and rolled out a
continent-wide network of sports stadiums
and concert halls.
Xi reconfirmed China’s commitment to provide
another $20 billion in financing to Africa. China
usually attaches a significant amount of such
funding to infrastructure projects, which forms
the foundation for Africa’s industrialization and
economic development.
Renewing an offer of US$20 billion (Dh73.4bn)
of loans to Africa between 2013 and 2015, Mr
Xi pledged to "help African countries turn
resource endowment into development
strength and achieve independent and
sustainable development”.
Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
describes discarded electrical or electronic devices.
China already produces about 2.3 million tons
(2010 estimate) domestically, second only to
the United States. And, despite having banned
e-waste imports, China remains a major ewaste dumping ground for developed
countries.
82% of the Guiyu children had blood/lead
levels of more than 100. Anything above that
figure is considered unsafe by international
health experts. The average reading for the
group was 149.
Six of the many villages in Guiyu specialize in
circuit-board disassembly, seven in plastics and
metals reprocessing, and two in wire and cable
disassembly. About a year ago the
environmental group Greenpeace sampled
dust, soil, river sediment and groundwater in
Guiyu where e-waste recycling is done. They
found soaring levels of toxic heavy metals and
organic contaminants in both places.
UNEP titled, "Recycling - from E-Waste to
Resources," the amount of e-waste being
produced - including mobile phones and
computers - could rise by as much as 500
percent over the next decade in some
countries
Guiyu in the Shantou region of China is a huge
electronic waste processing area.[14][19][20] It
is often referred to as the “e-waste capital of
the world.” The city employs over 150,000 ewaste workers that work through 16-hour days
dis-assembling old computers and recapturing
whatever metals and parts they can re-use or
sell
Airborne dioxins one type found at 100 times
levels previously measured. Levels of
carcinogens in duck ponds & rice paddies
exceeded international standards for
agricultural areas & cadmium, copper, nickel, &
lead levels in rice paddies were above
international standards. Heavy metals found in
road dust – lead over 300 times that of a control
village’s road dust & copper over 100 times