The economy of China occupies the first place in the economies in the world by the nominal GDP, the first by GDP at the purchasing power parity (from 2014).
The paper deals with the aim to consider the Chinese modernizing process and economy and to identify the main stages of evolution of the ideas of modernization. This research topic is very interesting, firstly, because of the rapid and successful development of China on the world stage (Songhua).
Economic modernization process, acting as the main force of the growing in the sphere of economy and progress of the state is the significant course of the reforms that are taking place in different countries. For this reason, an example of the successful enlargement of the modernizing in China could be useful for everybody in order to conduct national reforms within the country. Economic recovery in China has become one of the most vital and significant measures world widely. Over the thirty years of acting of the system-structural and socio-economic changes in the conditions of socialism, characterized by several specifics, China has achieved the great success in the socio-economic progress and formed a extremely good economy, which during the time of the worldwide crisis makes available to reach a strong economic growth (Songhua).
At this stage of the economy’s growth, when a lot of states are trying to conducts the reforms, intended at the modernization, the successful practice of China deserves respect and attention not just because of its features, but by the initial achievements of the modernizing, to put this country in the top five world leaders in many respects.
In the XVI century China was ruled by imperial Dynasty Ming. The main place in China's economy was occupied by the agriculture. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty during the start of their reign pursued a policy, aimed at strengthening of the peasant economy. In those days, it was significantly improved tools and agricultural techniques; they began to apply fertilizer in the ground. Great success China has reached in the sphere of irrigation equipment. The Chinese have laid the water pipes of bamboo pipes, prepared water wheels, dams were also erected.
The first attempts to invade to China were committed by the Europeans in the XVI century. By force of arms the British forced the Chinese to allow for the right to trade through the port of Guangzhou. The invasion of XVI-XVII centuries it began the turn of China into a country dependent on European colonizers (Hsü). In XVI-XVII centuries China was in a period of outstanding of the development of culture. In the days of the Ming empire it was developed such industries as the production of silk, porcelain, paper, jewelry, metal smelting, mining, salt and others. For the production of paper it was used the water engine. Technical discoveries, development of manufactories, travels to distant countries stimulated the improvement of the scientific knowledge (Songhua).
In order to appreciate the course of financial growing and modernization process in Chinese Republic, in such case it should be measured as a course of ‘ups and downs,’ a long-term evolution from one condition to absolutely another rules and ways of managing and acting. Speaking about the China's modernization, it should be noted that it is a practice of conversion from a outdated agrarian culture and social order to the contemporary manufacturing and highly-developed society and way of thinking. Meanwhile, we must bear in mind that China's modernization took place in a particular location and atmosphere of the Easter traditions (Hsü).
When we talk about ‘modernization’ concept in China, a lot of scientists contemplate it to the innovative model. It is not correct. The period of evolution to modern China, its demanding modernization is associated with the first half of the XX century - 1900-1950 years. This was the time of formation of the modernity in China (Hsü).
In fact, the idea of Chinese ‘modernization’ first appeared in 1919, during the so-called ‘May Fourth Movement,’ during which the representatives of intelligentsias have begun to rise the question about the forthcoming events in China. They utilized the conception of ‘modernization,’ expressing the hope for the realization of modernizing process in China. Thereat, they had in mind the move from an outdated agronomic social order to the up-to-date industrialized civilization. Later, this theory died out and appeared in the usage in the 1930’s, when Japan invaded into China.
1840-1910 years – were the initial period and the start of China's modernization. Its aim was to save the state from the invasion of West. As it is known, the United Kingdom after the industrial revolution tried to establish the trade relationships with Beijing, but all attempts were unsuccessful (Hsü). In 1840, the UK defeated China in the first Opium War; China needed to collaborate with the UK and other states of the West. China, received a severe defeat in the Opium War, was faced with a situation where China was no longer the ‘center of the world’ and no longer had its former power, while the United Kingdom was prevailing. China understood that to win the West and make the own state strong, the only solution was to consider the successful practice of the West in the issue of the economic development and industrialization. Thus, the Qing dynasty decided to initiate reforms and to develop manufacturing and technologies (Songhua).
1911-1949 years – is the subsequent period of modernization, characterizing by the corresponding changes of the reforms within the federal system. When China's naval fleet was crushed by Japanese naval fleet in the 1894-1895 years in the Chinese North Sea, it was a surprise to China: how a huge country, which was developing in the course of 50 years, can be overpowered by a minor state? The most essential causes were identified. And one of the causes was the carrying out of the reforms through the federal system of the dynasty, while the reformers did not really struggle for the changes among the old-time model of ruling (Hsü).
The downfall in the Japanese-Chinese war presented that it was not possible making China strong, following to the old model of ruling and that Qing dynasty can not pave the approach to the modernizing process. The opposition side was sure that the revolution for modernization was necessary. This did mean that the Qing Dynasty model of ruling the country must be transformed and that it must be established the innovative and developed political system. They turned their backs on the practice of Japan, France and USA ways of modernizations, expecting to modify the old-style China by a revolutionary way (Fangjun 7-16).
1949-1976 years – is the third model, corresponding to the conversion from capitalistic way of life to the socialistic modernizing process. Afterward the victory, the new leaders were faced with a challenging actions of the civil war. China remained to be the undeveloped country, but its industry has evolved since the mid of XIX century. There wasn’t actual industrial revolution as it was in England, because all symbols and manifestations of modernity were restricted in almost all large cities (Hsü).
Thus, the growth of the economy has become the first priority for the new China. Which way the communist leadership has chosen to reach economic growth? Thereat, the communist leadership, abandoning the sample of West, have chosen the Soviet Union scheme of economic reforms. The watchwords of the day were words such as ‘Learn from the Soviet Union,’ ‘the Soviet Union today is the tomorrow of China’ (Hsü).
The history indicated that the Soviet way of development of economy had the serious drawbacks, such as the idealized centrally directed planned economy, its misconception that the market economy is necessarily capitalistic, the abolition of private property. In a word, it was generated a ‘socialist’ dogma, which with time were directed against the socialistic way of development, causing damage to the course of modernizing of economy (Fangjun 7-16). In September 1976, the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, died, and Deng Xiaoping, one of the most prominent representatives of the pragmatic wing of the government, in fact returned to the Chinese Communist Party. He was the disciple and successor of the before died in January of that same year Premier – Zhou Enlai.
With the return of Deng to the political activity, he gradually began to define the future direction of the economic reforms in China and the ideological situation in the state. The finish of the Cultural Revolution marked the finish of the socialist course of modernizing. The modernizing of China has passed into a new era (Wu).
The time from 1976 to the nowadays is the next period of China’s modernization. Facts have shown that the socialistic modernizing of Mao or anti-capitalistic modernization has not produced the preferred outcomes and that it wasn’t ordinary. Faced with the difficulties, Deng Xiaoping performed steps to reform the administration. To do this, he argued for the ‘liberation of mind’ from the ancient beliefs and erroneous thoughts about the socialistic way of life. The first priority, instead of doing the ‘class struggle,’ which was the foundation of the managing methods of Mao Zedong, announced the evolution of the productive labor of the country (Fangjun 7-16).
The selection of a common Chinese government's modernization strategy was mainly caused by the following main objectives:
the essential keeping of power in the hands of the governing party, directing people to achieve the realistic goals, associated with a gradual exit from the state risky poverty;
the essential building of a broad base of support within the bureaucracy to the highest echelons of the governing party (that part that supported the reform);
the essential enhancing of the role of foreign policy and military power of China to ensure the future of the struggle for the natural resources and export markets (Fangjun 7-16).
The development model that was applicable to achieve these goals can’t be copied completely on the model of other states. Therefore, the Chinese government has used the scheme of the corresponding progress of the different economic structures, while maintaining the leading role of the public sector that provides a heavy-duty administrative apparatus that has survived from the Mao’s ruling, but got fresh course of actions and aims (Zhong and Hua).
Thus, the socialistic modernizing in China is the Chinese scheme of modernization of a special type, which is grounded on the model of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, which is a result of the implementation by the China's ruling elite of political synthesis of Marxist ideology concerning the progress of the society with the Confucian social and political conceptions of harmony in the sphere of the social development, as well as with the capitalist techniques and means in the area of the reforms in economy.
China's accession in 1978 on the pathway of the renovations of economy and opening up after the long time of the Cultural Revolution, which resulted in the catastrophe in the state economical welfare and detained the socio-economic growing of the national welfare for almost 20 years, presented the feasibility of the practice of market mechanisms and extensive collaboration with the exterior partners to build a competitive economy (Fangjun 7-16).
Nevertheless, the China’s practice of modernizing again proved that the conversion from a socialistic economy to a market is oppressed by the great difficulties. The incomplete and limited reforms have led to the intractable problems that stand in the course of the evolution of the China’s economy. The strategy of socialistic modernizing in China continues, and therefore the rulers of China have to solve new practical and technical and theoretic complications and inconsistencies. Thus, the investigation of the problems, the usage of new methods to solve them allows to select these characteristics of the China’s methods of modernizing as the flexible and fast adaptation to new economical environment (Zhong and Hua).
In addition, it should be highlighted the direction of the future improvement of modernizing process in China. It seems that, despite the issue that the China’s government has identified the economic sphere as the ground of the socialistic modernizing, political reforms are inevitable, which are slowly and gradually implemented in the society of China (Evans).
In the new chronological phase, China should take a lot of changes at both the theoretic and practical level in the state strategy and program of modernizing process, meeting the circumstances of the XXI century, but they are grounded not on the rejection, but on improving of the China's stable structure of the sustainable socialism without changing of the system. Within these conditions, the reforms of all systems take place in the spirit of the preservation of domestic traditions (Wu).
For contemporary China, which has reached the significant progress on the way of modernization, it is time to balance the economic achievements of the political balance of the system, for which it needs a long-term diplomatic and constant atmosphere both at the regional level and in the international arena (Fangjun 7-16).
Of course, the modernizing process affected the change and the transformation of the character of the nation of China, making a lot of new things in politics, economy, its cultural and divine values. Nevertheless, this is gradual process on the ground of the ideological concept of the harmonious development, without breaking the public consciousness. Thus, exactly the China’s model of modernizing can serve as a model for many developing countries, which are on the path to the progressive development basing on the economical performance, improving the welfare of its residents and governmental strength (Zhong and Hua).
Conclusion
The achieving of modernizing is the goal of many generations of Chinese people - the purpose to which the New China sought for two centuries. The Chinese people have been waiting for this during 260 years - from 1840 to the end of the XXI century (Fangjun 7-16).
The modernizing process in China is characterized by the followings. The start of modernization is the middle of the XIX century (1840-1860 years). The ultimate point of modernization is the power dynamics of modernization, although at the moment it is not possible to determine its endpoint. The main feature of modernizing is that it is a national modernization, which would affect a record number of people. The nature of modernization is the primary with some elements of the secondary. The speed of growth of Chinese modernization over the last 15 years is 3.5%, which exceeds the average indicators for the world (Evans).
The prospects of China's modernization are influenced both by the efforts of the state and the international situation. In accordance with the ‘three-step strategy’ of Deng Xiaoping, China will reach the grade of moderately developed countries in 2050. Based on calculations of the average annual growth in the level of development in the period from 1990 to 2005, it can be expected the level of moderately developed countries in China by 2040. The strategic goal of the third step of China's modernization can be achieved a decade earlier than it was expected (Wu).
Works Cited
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