Assess the View That Chinas Economic Strength is Also Its Weakness

Assess the view that China’s economic strength is also its weakness. After China’s opening up in 1978, China’s economic strength has been on an upward traector!. Although China’s economic strength has procured a tremendous tremendous amount of bene"ts for the countr! such as improved material well#b well#bein eing g of the people people,, great greater er social social stabi stabilit lit! ! and elevat elevated ed global global standing, it is also the same cause for a lot of vices in the societ!. $his essa! seeks to argue that China economic strength is not its weaknesses because despite it being a source of new weaknesses and e%acerbation to old ones, China’s economic strength b! and large have the capacit! to curb them as long as there is su&cient political resolve to track on the path of balanced development. China’ China’s s econom economic ic streng strength th simult simultane aneous ousl! l! has e%ace e%acerba rbated ted social social ills whic which h are are b!#p b!#prroduc oducts ts of its its mark arket refor eforms ms,, makin aking g str strengt ength h in economics also a source of its weakness. Capitalism has placed a greater emph emphas asis is on mate materi riali alism sm,, cons consum umer eris ism m and and comp compet etiti ition on.. $his $his has has resulted in people pursuing individual success and personal 'uali"cations at the e%pen e%pense se of collec collectiv tivism ism and familia familiall commi commitm tment ents. s. $he rise rise in divorce rate and cohabitation rate could have also been a b!#product of this. $he get#rich#'uick mentalit! has led to man! social problems like the proli prolifer ferati ation on of scams scams,, vices, vices, defect defective ive manuf manufact actur urers ers and indust industria riall pollution. Corruption is so deepl! worsened b! economic development so much so that it is entrenched even in the government that is supposed to be miti mitiga gati ting ng it. it. As su such ch,, econ econom omic ic str strengt ength h is also also a sour source ce of its its weakness. (owever, social ills aggravated b! China’s economic strength have been limited b! the implementation of government’s policies on corruption that were aided b! China’s economic strength, making it instead of a weakness a strength. $o solve the problem of corruption, additional committees like the disciplinar! and supervisor! committees in CC) and state bureaucrac! have been formed. *arger part of the budget is allocated to civil sector like the )*A to prevent civil servants from being lured b! the enticement of monet monetar! ar! bene"t bene"ts s to engage engage in illicit illicit activi activitie ties s like like shad! shad! busine businesse sses. s. +ducational campaigns are launched to dissuade people from engaging corrupt practices. $he tate#owned Assets upervision and administration commission -AAC which reports directl! to the state council was also set up to stem misappropriation of public resources. As a b!#product of China’ China’s s econom economic ic refor reforms ms,, rela% rela%ati ation on of o&cia o&ciall contr control ol over over religi religious ous beliefs and their adherences have also resulted in an insurgence of foreign faith as well as revival of tradition religion to act as the moral compass of the societ! in a time when the societ! has been blinded b! the mindless pursui pursuitt of mater material ial wealth wealth.. As such, such, instea instead d of a weakne weakness ss,, econom economic ic development can be a strength. +conomic success, attained at the e%pense of the environment, is at the same time detrimental to the health and social stabilit! of the countr!, making its economic strength also a source of its weakness. /elentless

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drive of China’s leaders to amass power, consolidate territor! and support a burgeoning population have led to the plundering of forests and mineral resou esourrces, ces, cons constr truc ucti ting ng rive riverr dive divers rsio ion n and and lead leadin ing g to poor poor wate waterr manage managemen ment. t. *ack *ack of long#t long#ter erm m planni planning, ng, there there is a clear clear absenc absence e of conser conservat vation ion ethos ethos in China’ China’s s econom economic ic develo developm pment ent.. /einfor einforced ced b! Confucianism which promotes the use of nature for man’s own bene"t, developmental institutions and economic policies have scant regard for the value of the natural environment. $he ma%im 0development "rst, then envir environm onment ent  b! itself itself,, sa!s sa!s enough enough of the impor importan tance ce accor accorded ded the preservation of the environment. $oda!, China is home to 12 out of 34 of the most polluted cities in the world. 5ore than 76 of the water in the river owing through China’s urban areas is not potable. As such, china’s economic success is also a source of its weakness. onet onethel heless ess,, envir environm onment ental al degrad degradati ation on on China’ China’s s growt growth h has been been limited b! the government’s drastic policies which were made possible b! China’s economic strength, making economic strength a form of a curb to its weakness and not a weakness. :or e%ample in 344;, the government gave gave <4 <4bi bill llio ion n !uan !uan to envi envirronm onmenta entall prot protec ecti tion on,, incl includ udin ing g for forest est protection, reclaiming farmlands farmlands for forests and combating deserti"cation. =reater investment in environmental protection at both the national and local levels through campaigns like 0China 0China =o =reen are also put in place to tack tackle le the the prob proble lem m of envi enviro ronm nmen enta tall degr degrad adat atio ion n even even as Chin China a develops. develops. $he ><3billion ><3billion outh#o outh#orth rth water diversion diversion proect proect has been launched to suppl! northern China with the rich water resource of the south. $he government has also created manmade rain in patched areas through the "ring of cloud seeding proectiles. (ence, economic strength is in fact a curb to its environmental weakness and not the weakness itself. +conomic ine'uit!, and hence social ine'ualities, is a serious weakness of the Chines Chinese e societ societ! ! that that was was largel largel! ! worsen worsened ed b! econom economic ic succes success, s, hence making its economic strength also a source of its weakness. ?ue to China’s une'ual development policies that had 0let some get rich "rst, between developed coastal cities and underdeveloped inland provinces, ther there e is a huge huge inco incom me gap. gap. /apid apid urba urbani nisa sati tion on acce accent ntua uate tes s that that di@erence in material living standards such as education opportunities and medical bene"t between rural residents and urbanites. Coastal China’s =?) is 8.6trillion !uan in 3442, compared to <.8trillion !uan, the combined =?) of the rest of China. =ini coe&cient for income distribution rose from 4.2< in 3446 to 4.277 in 3411 to 4.272 b! 3413. et anal!sts still argue that that the actual actual dis dispar parit! it! is much much worst. worst. Bhile Bhile the econom econom! ! achiev achieved ed double double#di #digit git grow growth th in the after aftermat math h of the 3448#3 3448#3449 449 global global "nanci "nancial al crises, 344million Chinese still lived in povert! at about >1.36 per da!. As such, economic strength is also a cause that worsens economic e'uit!.



of the people, thus economic strength in itself is in fact not a weakness. ?ue to the success of CC) at developing China’s econom!, standards of living living for both the rural resid resident ents s and the urbanite urbanites s have have vastl! vastl! and greatl! improved. ince China’s opening up, 244million people have been lifted out of povert!. povert!. Dver 64 of China population earn at least <444!uan per month and are considered the middle class. China’s annual growth rate has averaged more than 8 in the past 36!ears, and in 344;, its =?) grew b! a record#breaking 9.1 despite the outbreak of A/. 1;million obs were created and real income for even rural residents grew b! 2.;. As such, economic strength is a strength strength and not a weakness. +conomic strength has also concurrentl! weakened political stabilit! due to political challenges such as indignant dissents against the government that have begun to surface out of economic development, hence making its economic strength arguabl! also a source of its weakness. As a b!# product of China’s economic development, the internet of liberalised in 199; 19 9;.. Coup Couple led d with with the the inu inu% % of mode modern rn and and for foreign eign idea ideas s su such ch as freedom of speech and human rights, a wave of dissent is on the rise as the better informed populace has become more vocal and critical of the government. As of toda! China has about 3<4million Enternet users, the most in the world. $he amount of resentment conve!ed via the Enternet is unconc unconceiv eivabl able. e. ?espit ?espite e the 0=reat =reat :irewa irewall ll and tens tens of thousa thousands nds of censors, dissenters were still able to post petitions that once would have gone gone unhear unheard. d. )easa )easant nts s post post videos videos of demons demonstra tratio tions ns on outube outube.. )rotests have e%panded so rapidl! that the )A) has to be called in all over China ever! da! to shut them down. $he anger against the government has intensi"ed so much that CC) has to emplo! propaganda teams like the the 0"ve 0"ve#c #cen entt gang gang  to mode modera rate te the the tone tone of onli online ne deba debate te.. Ef the the demands of the people are continued to be ignored, CC)’s mandate to rule in the e!es of the people will be greatl! inured. (ence, economic strength in this case is also a source of its weakness. evert everthel heless ess,, while while politic political al stabi stabilit lit! ! is weake weakened ned,, stro strong ng econo economic mic performance performance is a main source of legitimac! for CC) which without CC) will be delegitimiFed immediatel!, thereb! making it essentiall! a strength and not a weakness. G! bringing in prosperit! for the people, economic growth enhances the standing of CC) in the countr! and allows them to have have the the mand mandat ate e from from the the peop people le to rule rule large largel! l! unch unchall allen enge ged d and and without popular opposition. Hust like prosperit! prosperit! and abundance of food and clothing represent the 5andate of (eaven that had authorised +mperors in the past to rule over its people, economic prosperit! has been the line of defence for CC) that have made it possible for a large maorit! of the people to sta! at least passivel! acceptant of CC)’s authoritarian rule. CC), with its promise of 0people#centred development to the countr!, has been able to gain the continual support of the people to unite with it in spurring the Chinese econom!. 34.96trillion !uan raked in in 344< shows



have have caus caused ed the the emer emerge genc nce e of a midd middle le clas class s in Chin China a that that larg largel el! ! supports the CC) for fear of rocking the boat of prosperit!. $herefore, economic strength is essentiall! a strength and not a weakness. En conclusion, CC)’s economic strength is a source of its weakness as man! an! of the b!#p b!#prroduct ducts s of eco economic omic devel evelo opmen pmentt bring ing about bout undesirable e@ects on the Chinese societ! and e%acerbate e%isting ones at the same time. (owever, economic strength, with its abilit! to curb the weaknesses, is distinct from the weaknesses it brings because the two do not share a s!mbiotic relationship. G! tracking on the path of balanced develo developme pment, nt, China China can still still eno! eno! the bene"t bene"ts s of econom economic ic succes success s without incurring the weaknesses. (ence, China’s economic strength is not its weaknesses.

Assess the View That Chinas Economic Strength is Also Its Weakness

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