CHINAGOOD OR BAD FOR THE UNITED STATES?
By Sy Schechtman
One of civilizations prime assets is ancient and modern Chinese input and wisdom. But todaythisimpressive, massivesystem
of political and economic governanceis front and center as the worldsenigmatic dilemma,muchas, almost a centuryago, Winston Churcills depictionof Czarist Russias Russian Bear imageas an enigmatic mystery wrapped in a
shroudand concealing much anxiouspossibilities not exactly fraught with universal
peace and security.Of course one can
find significant positive as well as
negative trends in any political record, especially in the almost3500 year period ofChinese history,but in
the last century at least much innocent human life has been destroyed in
theideological end game many radical political leadershide behindthat the end justifies the
means. And which the presentCommunist regime evidentlyis not
reluctant to follow, as the violentgovernmental
crackdownin 1989in Tianamen Squarekilling an estimatedlarge body of protestersreliable guess
estimates varying between300 to 400
hundred (official) to the student protestersfigure of three to four thousandyoung adults killed.
Evidently,in a system that has the façade of socialist
equality much wealth now is being directed
for nationalist prestige purposes. The
prime example of thisis the great
emphasis placed on the 2008Olympic
games in China
and the lack ofbasic economic facts about Chinasbudgetary expenses and projectedfinancial outlays which are not available for
public scrutiny. And thus also economic fundamentals;how much is being spent on showpiece non productivedisplays like the 2008 Olymlpics, or was
spent on being only thethird
countryafter the United States and Russiato put a man in space,and is even now being spent on the almost imminent moon landingat a cost ofmany moreundisclosed billions of
dollars. China, too,has increased its military spending to continue its long term harassment of Taiwanas a whipping boyscapegoatthreat. This externalalmost
hobgoblin fear being usedtodivert attentionmost foreignanalystsfear--from the lack ofspendingfor much needed social and educationalpayments to its very needy large mass of poor rural peoplewho are the bulk of its still very large underclass
ofcountry side peasants.
Evidently, up until now, withChinas ruling oligarchy, unelected and with
a not too veiled orsubtle iron fist of
selective repression,a la Tiananim Square, has chosenthe route of economic expansion as its panaceato Chinas burgeoning growth problems. It has embraced one central tenet of
Westernphilosophy ---a private enterprise,individual for profitcapitalism, but under a tight rein of absolutepolitical control. Trying to harness the innate humanthrust for selfbenefit financiallywith theother more devious goals of an
autocraticgovernment,anenigmato most of us,much as the Russiangovernmentpriorto Winston Chuchills
timeover a hundredyears ago.
One that espouses nowa
socialistfaçadebut has created a vibrantmiddle class of entrepreneursbecause of thethe free rein on economic growth---mainly in the coastal areas where existing transportation
infrastructure already existed.Approximately half thepopulation---700 millionin the
agriculturalinterior boon dockshave been ignoredin this very selective economic leap forward
into modernityand the squandering of money ontheseshow facadesof progress while it is estimated that40% of Chinas villages have no running
water. Also drastically inadequate in
rural China
are medical services,and so are the
schoolfacilities.
In its almost frantic haste tovault into the flesh pots of economic
largesse China has overleapedevery
countryexcepttheUnited States and Japan in gross domesticproductandhas become the prime exporting
nationin the world. And
sometimes,as current headlineshave beenwarning, its now the worlds prime polluter, with many untoward toxic
effects,aslead painted toys, medical drugs of very
questionable purity,and pilfered or non
existentcopyrightauthority for itslarge mediaproduction of compact discs and other related software. Above allits leap high into the economic stratosphere
has featured almost rampant pollutionand a good part of its vasturban
landscapeis shrouded in smog and
smoke. Indeed, Beijing,thecapitaland site of the 2008Olympicshas hada great, although mostly
under wraps face lifting. Many large
chemical industry factories,a prime Beijingindustry and prime pollutant in the region, have been uprooted as have the hordes of city
dwellers working there. Factories have
beenrelocated to the outer fringes of
the areaand the smog thus made less
evident, but many jobs and workersalso
hurriedly and with great hardshipmoved tomake for
a pretty tourist but certainly inauthenticpicture.
A moreauthentic presentation of Chinas perhaps overwhelming
pollution problem was reported in the New York Times front page story on
October 14th. Lake Tai, the center of Chinas ancient
land of fish and ricesuccumbedthisyear to floods of industrial and agricultural waste
Toxic
cyanobacteria, commonlyreferred to as pond scum, turned the big lake fluorescent green.The stench ofdecay choked anyone who came within a mile ofits shores.
A least two million peoplewho
live amid the canals, rice paddies and chemical plants around the lake had to
stopto stop drinking or cooking with
their main source of water.
The
newer, post Mao,less harsh regime now
in placein Beijingis aware of the negative international press, despite official censorship thathas tried to hide the pollution and authoritarian
ruleat the core of their regime. To further this face liftingthey havestarteda smile diplomacyapproach, opening up or enhancing many
embassies in neighboringcountries. The carrot and not thebig
stick approachthat they hadused under Mao, whose most profound
politicalinsight was also a military
one----justice speaks out from a barrel of a gun,Mao Tse Tungs most famous dictum. Softening
this approach with apprehensive neighborsis no doubt politicand has
raised Chinas imagein the region, and even world wide. While his approach is aimed
overtlyatimproving foreign relations, the
crucialquinquennial (five yearly) nation
wide secret conclavejust concluded this
past October probably hasto do with
over 50%of theChinese who are the peasant underclass,whose lot has not improvedmaterially by the prosperity of the growing urban Chinesemiddle class. This large rural population ,while gettinga trickle down increase in living standards,isstill embarrassinglybehindthe much more affluent coastalurban centers. And they know this festering fact,for modern telecommunicationsand radioare availableuniversally,even to the many disenfranchised distant
peasants in rice paddiesfar from
central Beijing;there is festering dissatisfaction as a
resultin the Chinesehinterlands.
Many of us still recallNikita Kruschev, and Boris Yeltsin and histheir ill fated perestroika.-----an attempt to stave
offwith limited reform the total
collapseof the Soviet Empire. There waslarge scale discontent when they came to power which the Soviet systemalmost completely stifled by press
censorship, and a terror network ofimprisonmentknown as the Gulag Archipelago, and
the worldwas astonished that each relaxation of oppressiononly seemed to encourage more demands for more liberty. As mentioned before this everyfifth year congress of the ruling Chinese
CommunistParty has just concluded,and its 2217 delegates chosen in a very
controlled mannerwill listen to the
party lineand approvethe will of Hu JIntao, their successful ruler
since the lastfive year congress. Undoubtedly Mr. Hu will be re elected by acclamation. He plans to retire in 2012 andis looking around for his hand picked
successor. Too much freedom and debate
about this favored individual will not be encouragednorabout new socioeconomic paths. They
are still gung ho with the Catch 22 oxymoronic path of political repression
domestically and almost laissez faire capitalismeconomically. And the current just concluded congress will
be another tight wire spellbinderofhow can they keep them down on the farm
after theyveseen Paree! More than a
hint of Maoism is still in the
background. While the regnant Mr. Hu has spoken duringhis current term of encouragingmore debate and more frequent elections,none of thishas come aboutand at timesmore censorship is randomly imposed. The world isall tuned in for the answer.Not
for Gay Paree, of course,but how the
economic pie will be moreequally
distributed. This time discussions and
the give and take ofnegotiation and
compromise. And no more Tiannimin Squareviolence.
The United States attitude,which so far seems to be successful,isthe
exact opposite of our seemingly abortive Iraqi policy. Not confrontational but very cooperative. Even though hesitant about the ultimate thrust of the structure of communist authoritarian control, we
are very happy about theeconomic
freedommanifest in their espousal of the capitalist
system. They have become
ourlargest trading partner andalso have become the second largest holder of
our debt, just about ten billion dollarsless than Japan.
While they also have the fastest
growingeconomyin the world
( as well as being the worlds prime polluter)they are still well below our total Gross
Domestic Product . So far this symbiosison the domesticChinese front
seems to be beneficialon the larger
Pacific Rimarea, too,wherethe United Stateshas manyimportanttrading concerns, and has ruled the roost insofar in economic trading The recently concludedtreaty with the ever recalcitrantNorth Korea to abandon the use of nuclear fission
may be a landmarkin mutual
cooperationbetween China, Japan, North
Korea, South KoreaRussia,and the United States. For over 60 yearsthe United Statesand its very strong naval presence has kept
the vast expanse of thePacific ocean an
orderly maritime experience for world widecommerce. Herenot confrontationbut mutual respecthave been the order of the day. But alsowedid havethe big stickof our strong navy so that we couldafford to speak softly and our friends and foes would still listen very
respectfully. And that includes the very tender subject of Taiwan,which nowand thenflares and then fadesas theUnited Statesinsists on peacefulnegotiation.While I is true that now China and Japan are increasing parts of their navalarsenal somewhat it is not a current cause of concern. The presenceof the superiorUnited Statesarmada as ultimate arbiter is a
very stabilizing factor,tending to
makea somewhat lowerrung on theprestige ladderquite acceptable forall the Asiatic nations lower
down.
Perhaps the financial, physical and
spiritual resources that made the United States the sole surviving
superpower in the world are
decliningandsome portion of our dominant positionothers will justifiably acquire. In the past, especially in the early
1980s this seemed true, when we were mired in recessionand inflation anda body of our citizenswere held hostageby Iranand we had what Jimmy Carter calledour malaise. Crime
seemedon the rise and our urban
streetswere not cleanas in other countries.We were calledthe paper tiger derisivelywhose time of greatness was over. Obviouslythe last thirty years utterlybelied thatcynicalprojection.
And while we must act , asbefore, in our self interest,we
must act also withtheenergy, ambition andgreatness that brought usto the fore in our family of nations.