(Student’s Name)
Abstract
The present literature aims to study China as the next best contender for the position of Global power in the backdrop of its complex and diverse culture, rocky political history and the social and economic reforms. The study also makes an attempt to analyze the kind of political ideology that is currently being practiced in the country.
Various books and research studies were considered to reach to a conclusion with regards to this paper. The trends of the economic development and political stability recorded in the country suggest that it has the potential to stand as the next global power.
Considered to be one of the oldest civilizations in the world China is now also being recognized as the new global power. The country contributes a fifth share to the world’s population. The current paper makes an attempt to analyze the emergence of China as global power in the face of its tremendous economic development, political standing and culture. The following heads give further details about the areas mentioned above.
Economic Development and its effect on the culture of the country: Any country’s economic development is influenced to a great extent by both its culture and history. It is the cultural background that defines the kind of resources available at a particular place to fuel its economic development. And china with its unique culture has become the most sought after place by the investors. The China business climate survey conducted in the year 2010 by the American Chamber of Commerce in China has 77% of its respondents favoring the country as one among their top 3 investment avenues. China is fast becoming a threat to the United States of America and has proved this by being in a much stable condition in the automotive market and energy consumption sector when compared to its counterpart, the United States of America. Such growth in China’s economic performance can be attributed to the Asian values adopted by the country. Demonstrating a collective society in China is the Confucian democracy that focuses on importance of savings and education. For the last 3 consecutive decades China has maintained its Gross Domestic Product at 9.9% to become the world’s second largest economy. And if the trade analysts are to be believed the kind of technological innovations that the country exhibits definitely has the potential to make it emerge as the world’s largest economy in 2030. The phenomenal growth and the sustained economic development of the country bear the evidence to a well preserved culture in the right sense and the right perspective. China’s cultural diversity had the potential of posing as a threat to a faster economic development resulting from business alliances from different countries but the country could rightly handle the threat by following its very famous saying “Seeking similarities while respecting differences”
Reason behind china’s empowerment: “Rome was not built is a day” best describes that there is more than a single reason for such a consistent economic development which eventually lead to the country’s empowerment. However, the rapid and sustainable economic growth of the nation can be attributed to the regular practice of the required social and the economic reforms such as privatization. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in the year 1978 saw the inception of adherence to the much required economic reforms in the country. In the year 2006 the country’s Total Trade rank in the world saw a rise from 27th to 3rd owing to the regular practice of reforms. In addition to such reforms the country also empowered itself by accepting almost all the foreign investments that came its way and also broadened the horizons of its banking sector. Such acceptance and diversification were possible as a result of a much refine education system. China also emphasized on having technology as one of its major productive forces after the National Conference on Science and Technology that was held on March 18th 1978. Ultimately, the much needed urbanization was rightly adopted in the country after the 14th CPC National Congress that let its economy grow by numerous folds.
China as a political leader and its relevant history: According to the observation of some Chinese scholars, any society’s overall development largely depends upon its political, economic and cultural trends and practices. The political authority that China exhibits is looked upon by various other countries as a role to be adopted. The kind of high tide China is riding now, it has become inevitable for the country to assure its investors of its political stability. The country is on its way to simplify the complexities arising out of the contradicting economic and political policies to maintain the growth levels and keep attracting the foreign investments. It was the end of the Cultural Revolution in the year 1976 that saw the inception of a new developmental phase for the country.
China and the Confucian Democracy: A Confucian Democracy is an outcome of a detailed research studying the pertinent core ideas and concepts of Confucianism and John Dewey’s Pragmatist philosophy with a view to propose a theory more consistent in its approach. Confucianism was proposed by a Chinese philosopher Confucius and remained as the official state ideology of China until it was replaced by another ideology from the Republic of China. The virtues promoted by Confucianism are Ren, Yi and Li which according to the Confucian ideology govern the social behavior of human beings. The country’s culture and practices today provide sufficient evidence to believe that Confucian philosophy is still alive in the country and definitely does not hold or advocate anything in contradiction to the democratic values safeguarded by the government. Practices such as “inner party democracy” and “consultative democracy” further prove that Confucian philosophy does not hinder the basic democratic virtues. People too with the concurrent usage of internet want a reduced role of intermediaries while encouraging the Confucian Democracy. The co-existence of the democratic values and the Confucian philosophy thus indicate that China is definitely going towards a Confucian Democracy.
Conclusion: With the manifold economic growth that China is recording, the country definitely has the potential to challenge the position of the world power provided it efficiently and effectively adopts the Confucian character in its current democratic virtues. The fastest growing economy, political authoritarianism and largest military establishments empower china to confidently contend for the position of the next Global Power.
References
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