1. Welcome to this global learning module entitled: Is China an Economic
Superpower? I am Kathy Gause from Tidewater Community College and I
am the creator and narrator of this module
2. Two centuries ago, long after the Great Wall of China was built, Napoleon
described the country of China as a Sleeping Giant. He predicted that,
China, when awakened, would “shake the world”.
3. China is taking bold steps to prove that it has awakened from its Sleeping
Giant reputation
4. One recent example is China’s agreement with Columbia to build a
transcontinental railway system to compete with the 100-year old Panama
Canal.
5. Do you agree or disagree that China is an Economic Super-Power?
6. What is a Super Power? 4 axes of power define what it takes to be one:
Economic, Military, Political, and Cultural. The learning objectives of this
module are to motivate critical thinking about the first axis, The
Economic Power of China.
7. Pause for the learning objectives in this module.
8. Pause this video here to take a Pre-Assessment
9. A post assessment will be provided at the end of this module. (pause)
10. A snapshot of the Economic Power of China will be covered using 8
dimensions: Ranking in the world economy, per capita income, future
growth, natural resources, population, global influence, education and
perceptions.
11. On Valentine’s Day 2011 it was official, China was ranked the #2
economic power in the world, surpassing Japan, who held this distinction
for 42 years. So what are the predictions for China to surpass the U.S. as
the #1 economy? Most say 20 years, some say 10.
12. What are the predictions for other countries in the future? The large red
dot at the top right, China, is in the #1 spot, U.S., the blue dot, slated to be
in the #2 position, India, the green dot, is third, followed by Japan 4th, and
Brazil 5th. Not shown are Russia, United Kingdom, and Germany , #6,7,
and 8 respectively. In just a few years, China zoomed ahead of all these
economies.
13. Upon hearing the news about being #2, the people of China are taking a
cautious bow. Chinese media headlines claim they remain ‘nervous’. The
survey said ….. Yes, China is now second in the world’s economy – But,
they said, Not the Second Strongest.
14. By perceiving that they are not the second strongest economy, could the
people of China be referring to their average income (that is, gross
domestic product per capita) - only about $7,400 a year for each worker?
While in the U.S., it is $47,000 per year. And, in Japan, the GDP per
capita is $40,000, 5 times larger than China?
15. By perceiving that they are not the second strongest economy, could the
people of China be referring to their government’s vigilance about
controlling inflation? To avoid inflation, food prices are doubling and
tripling, especially fruit ….
16. as well as prices on meat, here a pig goes to market,
17. and prices on vegetables, staples of the poor.
18. Real estate prices are rising without demand. The goal-setting Chinese
government is feverishly trying to resolve the dilemma of so many empty
buildings.
19. The government has raised the centuries old “honey pot” homes to make
way for condo skyscrapers, as shown in the background.
20. One can easily understand why the people of China do not feel that their
economy is stronger. Their response? No solution or Mei Banfa. Seen
here are the younger generation – known as the coupon clippers.
21. Indicative of Economic Superpowers, future growth is important. China’s
Gross Domestic Product or GDP is growing at an astounding 9.9% per
year while the world average is 6.5% growth.
22. Adding to their stability, the Chinese government does heavily control all
banks in China and the people in China are known for their ability to save
money.
23. A hot topic in the news, China owns about 9.6% of U.S. debt, up from
6.8% about 6 years ago.
24. As indicated by the blue arrow on the left, the vast trade imbalance has
left China the largest foreign holder of U.S. dollars. U.S. private investors
hold about half of the U.S. debt, as indicated by the blue half of the circle..
on the right.
25. What was that famous axiom of a super power? Faster than a speeding
bullet? China’s economy is growing that fast! China now has the fastest
bullet train in the world – 220 mph. Transportation is an important feature
of economic power.
26. China has huge natural resources and wants more. The Chinese are, by
nature, strategic planners. For starters, its key resource is its sheer
number of people. Their one-child policy keeps the fertility rate already
below replacement of their nearly 1.5B people.
27. Think about it – with all of those people, group weddings are very popular
and a win-win situation - the couples win a lottery for the all-expenses paid
wedding and an upbeat marketing event is secured by a sponsor.
28. There are 174 urban centers with more than 1M people. In the U.S., there
are just 9 urban centers.
29. The transition of people from country to cities in China has fueled their
economic growth and have earned them the reputation of serving as the
world’s ‘factory floor.” However, the floor is merely a stepping stone.
30. China is strategically hungry for rare earth resources world-wide,
particularly iron ore, the main ingredient of steel, shown here from Brazil,
causing this Latin American economy to soar, thanks to their #1 investor,
China.
31. China is the #2 consumer of Australian minerals. Iron ore is second to oil
in importance to the global economy.
32. This near-monopoly by China has global concern because high
technology is based on rare earth resources. A U.S. Geological Survey
shows that China already holds nearly 40 percent the world's rare earth
deposits. China produces over 95 percent of the world's supply of rare
earths, a collective name for 17 minerals.
33. Rare earths are crucial for green energy and high-tech products
such as batteries for hybrid and electric cars, lasers, fiber-optic cables,
34. cell phones, flat screens, and defense missiles.
35. A recent, sudden refusal to export rare earths by China sounded an
international alarm. China selectively lifted this ‘embargo’, but with
premium prices and promises of regulation.
36. China claims that even their rare resources will be depleted in 20 years.
All countries have had a wake-up call on rare earths and are working on
alternatives.
37. The People of China only consume 10% of the resources. The rest of the
resources go to heavy industry.
38. China is behind every healthy Asian economy, for example, in Indonesia,
Chinese own 75% of private capital while only making up 2% of the
population. In the Philippines, the Chinese own 50% of the capital with
only 2% population.
39. In Thailand, Chinese own an astounding 80% of the private wealth with
10% of the population being Chinese and in Malaysia, Chinese own 50%
of the wealth and make-up 30% of the population.
40. China is a major player in Africa - actually since the 1960’s – seeking
fertilizers, energy extraction, and minerals. This dynamic duo has stepped
up their global partnering.
41. To sustain their economic growth, China is busy buying Copper, known as
the new “red gold” from the Congo –
42. while influencing major rebuilding of the Congo’s infrastructure to support
the copper mining.
43. Chinese state-owned firms, based on a 10 year old “go out” mandate, with
the goal of improving its global influence, are building railways, roads,
mines, hospitals, schools
44. and dams in the Congo - at a cost of $12 billion –
45. in exchange for the right to mine a treasure house of copper ore of equal
value.
46. $12B is more than 3 times Congo's annual national budget and roughly 10
times the aid that Western donors have promised.
47. This partnership is consistent with China’s 3-prong overarching goals:
diplomacy, development and defense, similar to the U.S.
48. China refers to a reciprocal agreement like this as Guanxi. China does
not want to compete for natural resources, but wants to own them and
their infrastructure, a typical strategy for superpowers. Did we mention
that China was stronger than a locomotive that links all railways in Africa?
49. Industry is compounding China's already grim pollution not to mention the
enormous drag on society. Each year, millions more are sick, hundreds of
thousands more die prematurely, and agricultural yields are being sapped.
The costs inflicted by pollution each year are estimated at 10% of GDP.
50. China recently admitted it is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter
having some of the world's worst air pollution after rapid growth over the
past 30 years triggered widespread environmental damage. Greenpeace,
an international watchdog, recognized China for its efforts to overcome
pollution, but said it is not enough
51. An international panel of experts have warned that loss in productivity
because of health problems caused by smoking habits would hamper
China’s economic growth. The amount of money spent on health
problems due to smoking reportedly far exceed the tobacco industry’s
contribution in terms of profits and jobs it generates.
52. Local edicts mandating that people smoke more to boost the economy are
waning. Cigarettes generate 7.5% of government revenues. The most
smoke-filled nation produces 42% of all cigarettes on the planet.
53. 60% percent of all males smoke, and children as young as age 2 are
smoking. About 1.2 million Chinese die per year from smoking. This is
predicted to triple by 2030.
54. Here, at the Hongta or Red Pagoda Cigarette Factory, 8 gold cigarettes
welcome visitors to the State-owned monopoly. China has announced
increased spending on health care.
55. Social unrest could be another “crack in the wall” behind China’s gaining
influence and superpower acclaim. Due to recent suicides and strikes, not
to mention the turnover rate, tech factories increased monthly average
salaries from $200 to $300. In fact, it was just announced that workers
may soon elect their own union representatives.
56. Another key to Economic Superpower status is an educated workforce,
particularly in the sciences and technology. Here in a new university in
Guizhou, a Knowledge is Power sign is prominent.
57. China is still recovering from Mao’s Cultural Revolution of the mid-60’s
that banned scholars to work in the fields, enabled students to attack
teachers, and ostracized foreigners or foreign travel.
58. This fear of being “accused as being elitist” by the people of China has
been referred to as the Great ‘Invisible’ Wall of China.
59. The new China has realized the importance of a quality education, setting
the goal of being a world-class educator
60. building the best universities ever,
61. and rebuilding trust, setting up partnerships, such as the one with
Tidewater Community College, VA, and Guizhou Normal University and
Yunnan Normal University.
62. and encouraging its citizens, and foreigners, to visit and to study in China..
63. Hopefully, this module has given you some data to make your decision
and has sparked your interest to research further into whether China is an
economic superpower.
64. In conclusion, perceptions are a key part of a Superpower’s reputation. A
2011 Gallup poll claimed that 52% of Americans already view China as
the top world economy. Only 2 years ago, Americans voted that the two
countries were the same.
65. In fact, only 32% of Americans accurately believe that America is the #1
economy. Who has been sleeping? Maybe it is not China.
66. "If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are
headed." - Ancient Chinese Proverb
67. This is a recap of what we covered regarding China as an Economic
Power. There are three more axis to determine a Superpower, Military
Power, Political Power, and Cultural Power. They will be covered in
following modules.
68. Pause
69. to take the post-assessments.
70. These are global objectives that apply to this module (not verbalized:
Distinguish cultural bias in the way certain issues are framed, recognize
the significance of natural limits, be aware of imbalances in income,
health, energy and education)
71. Thank you. Here is my contact information. Kathy Gause TCC
kgause@tcc.edu
Is China a Superpower? Global Module
(By Kathy Gause TCC kmgause@cox.net)
Pre and Post Assessment (as of March 2011)
1. By 2020, most experts say that China, the #2 economy in the world, will
surpass U.S. as the #1 economy of the world. False, by 2030, only some
say 2020.
2. Japan had been the #2 economy for over 40 years. True
3. China owns less than 10% of U.S. debt. True, about 9.6%
4. The annual income of a Chinese citizen is $7,400 per year compared to
$47,000 in the U.S. True
5. China is 2% of the population of both Indonesia and the Philippines
and owns 50% of the wealth in these countries. False. China owns 75%
of Indonesia.
6.In U.S., there are 9 urban centers with more than 1M people. In China
there are about 74 urban centers. False. In China, there are 174 urban
centers
7. The organizing principle of China is Guanxi, or relationship building and
reciprocity, not law. True
8. In America, over 50 percent already view China as the top world
economy. True 52% according to a 2011 Gallup poll