Do you believe China will maintain its current government structure? Why or why not?
The single party Communist rule has helped China reach the zenith of global economy. But, unless political reforms are launched soon by the party, the Communist era will soon be washed away. The legitimacy of the party is threatened by the endemic corruption spread throughout the system. Due to the rising middle class, the political model is unsustainable and will drive democracy through the heart of Beijing. According to Stanford professor Francis Fukuyama: “The new generation in China is very different from the one that left the land. they have new demands, demands like clean air, clean water, safe food and other issues that can’t just be solved by fast economic growth” (Anderlini, 2013). In addition, the party is going through decline as they still support the hollow ideology of society not believing in the need for the pervasive sense of frustration and insecurity and adequate social welfare. Other indications are the increasing elite factionalism, ethnic and social unrest, over-taxation used for filling the pockets of government officials, income inequality and unreliable rule of law. Above all, as Chinese economy starts to slow, anger is increasing due to lack of inclusion politically, and this is considered as the greatest party threat by several experienced party officials.
What kind of government do you believe will exist in China in 50 years? Be specific and explain your reasons.
It cannot be denied that the Communist government in China is facing several daunting challenges for their future survival. The communist government has managed to survive great threats in the past such as the Cultural Revolution and the 1989 crisis, but in today’s digital age their actions are known throughout the world in a split second. Despite the government banning several social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, the Chinese people have managed to develop alternatives such as Weibo, YouKu, etc. (Anderlini, 2013). These sites can help in organizing political opposition to government actions and lead to a revolution. Therefore, their existence in half a century is highly debatable. The greatest impact on the type of Chinese government ruling over the country in 2066 would come from Chinese people. There are already signs of rising middle class aggression towards the current government and their non-inclusive policies. In addition, the slowdown of the economy has helped for the identification of heightened corruption and inability of the government to take care of basic human rights (Auslin, 2015). Therefore, in my opinion Communist government will not exist in China in 2066 and the country will be led by democratic government elected by the people.
Can China replace U.S. as the global power? Explain what needs to be done in either country for this to occur.
China in many ways has already replaces US as the superpower. China is home of producing everything that people all over the world needs such as toys, beer, computer equipment, gold, clothes, shoes, phones, wind power, solar power, coal, minerals, automobiles, Christmas trees, glass, etc. In the last decade, the US has managed to develop a trade deficit of 2.3 trillion dollars with China and it has helped the Chinese economy to grow 7 times faster than US economy. Over the past few decades, thousands of manufacturing facilities and millions of manufacturing jobs have moved from the US to China. Therefore, China is producing many things that are used by Americans, but Americans are restricted to export by strict tariff rules of the Chinese government (Snyder, 2013). The only places that US still leads China by a heavy margin is the number of citizens incarcerated per capita and defence spending.
References
Anderlini., J. (2013, 20 September). How long can the Communist party survive in China?. Retrieved 8 August 2016 from, https://www.ft.com/content/533a6374-1fdc-11e3-8861-00144feab7de
Auslin., M. (2015, 29 January). The Twilight of China’s Communist Party. Retrieved 8 August 2016 from, http://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-auslin-the-twilight-of-chinas-communist-party-1422551788
Snyder., M. (2013, 11 February). 40 WAYS THAT CHINA IS BEATING AMERICA. Retrieved 8 August 2016 from, http://www.infowars.com/40-ways-that-china-is-beating-america/
