This is a little bit of a departure from my usual posts so if you don’t want to read my opinions on current events check back in a few days when something interesting happens to me. This post and the one below are about two things that interest me a lot: American politics and China. And just a heads up, they are pretty long, so read at your own risk.
I’ll start with China first since it’s the Olympics (on a side note, watching the opening ceremony live was sweet). In the recent months there has been a great deal of ink spilled about how to approach the Chinese given a less than stellar human rights record, the riots in Tibet, and countless other issues. At the same time, there has been a ton of ink spilled about the massive transformation that has made China increasingly prosperous to the point that it is now the second largest market for GM in the world. The question is how are we to respond to these dual realities of a rapidly growing power that may not share our values?
Well you do it carefully. For one thing, an Olympic boycott is the wrong way to do so. When I studied in Beijing three years ago people were bursting with pride then that they could hold the Olympics, it was, to the Chinese, a symbol of national pride as it showed they had arrived as a power on the world stage. And from my friends in the city now I am told that pride has only grown. The pride is in part due to nationalism. China has a long history in modern times of being subjugated by the West and they still (rightly) see themselves as lagging behind the West in development (this actually poses a dual reality where they envy the West for its current developed state and even look up to Westerners in China but are uneasy and even angry with the past actions of the West towards their country).
This nationalism is what led to the harsh reaction and outright rejection of my Chinese to Western demands during the Tibetan riots. If your country went from being a undeveloped backwater that relied on farming and crushed individual thought in the 70’s to being one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world that has lifted millions from poverty and given almost everyone a chance to make money and get ahead (and in doing so solved incredible problems) in such a short time you would be proud too. Moreover, while China is by no means a liberal democracy they have increasingly given their citizens freedom of expression and they no longer intrude on their personal lives (formerly functions such as marriage , having kids, eating, healthcare, school, and work were all controlled by your work unit and this is no more). So for the Chinese they feel increasingly free.
Hence, when we in the West think the citizens are brainwashed and the government is a bunch of thugs (to be sure there are thugs galore but due to the fractured nature of politics in China where there is a great deal of power at the lower levels and little oversight) as CNN has stated, this elicits a strong response. While the Chinese may not be free in the Western sense they are by no means brainwashed. The Chinese take the Lee Kwan Yew approach and argue for more collective “Asian rights” but this is another debate for another time.
So how do we deal with China? First, we need to understand them. I can assure you they understand us much better than we understand them. I recall a Chinese person questioning me in detail about the workings of the American political system and parties while I was in Beijing. Now ask yourself, just how much do you know about the Chinese political structure? Second, we cannot dismiss them as being brainwashed robots or the government as incompetent (you don’t grow 10% a year for close to 20 years by being incompetent). Third, we need to find ways to collectively embrace China and give them a stake in world affairs. If they are given more say in the WTO and other organizations and can help to make some of the rules they will be more inclined to constructively participate internationally. At the same time, we cannot assume that China is innocuous and must keep a strong military presence as the stick to the carrot provided by an international embrace. But the largest challenge we will face is that of resources. When we stress conservation the Chinese say why can we, the nation that uses more resources than anyone else, tell them to conserve when the mark of growing wealth is buying things? To this I have no answer except to set an example ourselves and use less, especially in the case of oil this means finding an alternative source of energy.
Shutting ourselves off from China, blaming them for outsourcing, or accusing their government of being rotten to the core are easy responses. But they do not account for nationalism and the increasing role that China plays in the world. If we are to live in peace with the Chinese, which is by no means assured, we have to accept a Chinese role in the world and work to improve our relations because Chinese clout will only continue to grow.
Further this means accepting the fact the globalization is here and that we only hurt ourselves by trying to hide from its force. Globalization poses challenges and opportunities. The sooner we accept the challenge of resource pressures, improving healthcare, and improving education the sooner we can take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, there is a parable in Africa that says “Everyday a lion wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest gazelle or it will starve and everyday a gazelle wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up you better be running.” I don’t know if the US is the lion or gazelle but what I do know is China is running awfully fast and the sooner we address that the better shape we’ll be in.
I’ll start with China first since it’s the Olympics (on a side note, watching the opening ceremony live was sweet). In the recent months there has been a great deal of ink spilled about how to approach the Chinese given a less than stellar human rights record, the riots in Tibet, and countless other issues. At the same time, there has been a ton of ink spilled about the massive transformation that has made China increasingly prosperous to the point that it is now the second largest market for GM in the world. The question is how are we to respond to these dual realities of a rapidly growing power that may not share our values?
Well you do it carefully. For one thing, an Olympic boycott is the wrong way to do so. When I studied in Beijing three years ago people were bursting with pride then that they could hold the Olympics, it was, to the Chinese, a symbol of national pride as it showed they had arrived as a power on the world stage. And from my friends in the city now I am told that pride has only grown. The pride is in part due to nationalism. China has a long history in modern times of being subjugated by the West and they still (rightly) see themselves as lagging behind the West in development (this actually poses a dual reality where they envy the West for its current developed state and even look up to Westerners in China but are uneasy and even angry with the past actions of the West towards their country).
This nationalism is what led to the harsh reaction and outright rejection of my Chinese to Western demands during the Tibetan riots. If your country went from being a undeveloped backwater that relied on farming and crushed individual thought in the 70’s to being one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world that has lifted millions from poverty and given almost everyone a chance to make money and get ahead (and in doing so solved incredible problems) in such a short time you would be proud too. Moreover, while China is by no means a liberal democracy they have increasingly given their citizens freedom of expression and they no longer intrude on their personal lives (formerly functions such as marriage , having kids, eating, healthcare, school, and work were all controlled by your work unit and this is no more). So for the Chinese they feel increasingly free.
Hence, when we in the West think the citizens are brainwashed and the government is a bunch of thugs (to be sure there are thugs galore but due to the fractured nature of politics in China where there is a great deal of power at the lower levels and little oversight) as CNN has stated, this elicits a strong response. While the Chinese may not be free in the Western sense they are by no means brainwashed. The Chinese take the Lee Kwan Yew approach and argue for more collective “Asian rights” but this is another debate for another time.
So how do we deal with China? First, we need to understand them. I can assure you they understand us much better than we understand them. I recall a Chinese person questioning me in detail about the workings of the American political system and parties while I was in Beijing. Now ask yourself, just how much do you know about the Chinese political structure? Second, we cannot dismiss them as being brainwashed robots or the government as incompetent (you don’t grow 10% a year for close to 20 years by being incompetent). Third, we need to find ways to collectively embrace China and give them a stake in world affairs. If they are given more say in the WTO and other organizations and can help to make some of the rules they will be more inclined to constructively participate internationally. At the same time, we cannot assume that China is innocuous and must keep a strong military presence as the stick to the carrot provided by an international embrace. But the largest challenge we will face is that of resources. When we stress conservation the Chinese say why can we, the nation that uses more resources than anyone else, tell them to conserve when the mark of growing wealth is buying things? To this I have no answer except to set an example ourselves and use less, especially in the case of oil this means finding an alternative source of energy.
Shutting ourselves off from China, blaming them for outsourcing, or accusing their government of being rotten to the core are easy responses. But they do not account for nationalism and the increasing role that China plays in the world. If we are to live in peace with the Chinese, which is by no means assured, we have to accept a Chinese role in the world and work to improve our relations because Chinese clout will only continue to grow.
Further this means accepting the fact the globalization is here and that we only hurt ourselves by trying to hide from its force. Globalization poses challenges and opportunities. The sooner we accept the challenge of resource pressures, improving healthcare, and improving education the sooner we can take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization. To paraphrase Thomas Friedman, there is a parable in Africa that says “Everyday a lion wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest gazelle or it will starve and everyday a gazelle wakes up and knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up you better be running.” I don’t know if the US is the lion or gazelle but what I do know is China is running awfully fast and the sooner we address that the better shape we’ll be in.
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