How How far far do you you agr agree that that ineq inequa uali lity ty remai emains ns the the grea greate test st thr threat eat to Chin Chinas as economic development? After After China’s opening up in 1978 the egalitarian society that communism aspires to crea create te grow growin ingl gly y !eca !ecame me a dist distan antt drea dream m and and what what came came in its its plac place e is a capita capitalis listic tic"st "style yle system system that that inevit inevita!l a!ly y creat creates es and worse worsens ns inequa inequalit lity y# $hile $hile inequality has !een a great challenge to China’s economy as it generates a large amou amount nt of soci social al inst insta! a!il ilit ity y and and unde underrmine mines s the the prem premis ise e of grow growth th it is not not irreconcila!le and large amount of governmental e%orts have !een put in place to ameliorate the situation# Hence this essay see&s to argue that although inequality is one of the stic&y and pestilential pro!lems pro!lems China faces in developing its economy henceforth it is not the fundamentally greatest threat to the China faces as long as there are su'cient political will to allocate resources more equita!ly in such a way that the income gap narrows and not widens as the economy growth# (ncome inequality can lead to social dissatisfaction and unrests there!y unsettling the sta!ility that has a%orded China its economic growth# )ue to China’s unequal development policies that had *let some get rich +rst, !etween developed coastal cities cities and underde underdevelo veloped ped inland inland provinc provinces es there there is a huge income gap# -apid ur!an ur!ani.a i.atio tion n accent accentuat uates es that that di%er di%erenc ence e in materi material al living living stand standar ards ds such such as education opportunities and medical !ene+t !etween rural residents and ur!anites# Coastal China’s /)0 is 8#trillion yuan in 2334 compared to 5#8trillion yuan the com!ined /)0 of the rest of China# /ini coe'cient for income distri!ution rose from 3#45 in 233 to 3#477 in 2311 to 3#474 !y 23126 and analysts still argue that the actual actual dispa disparit rity y is much much worst# worst# ven ven with with the econom economy y achiev achieving ing dou!l dou!le"d e"digi igitt growth in the aftermath of the 2338"2339 glo!al +nancial crises 233million Chinese still still lived lived in povert poverty y at a!out a!out :1# :1#2 2 per day# /iven /iven its severi severity ty ur!an" ur!an"ru rural ral division may !e a challenge to China’s economic development# Howeve However r measur measures es undert underta& a&en en !y the CC0 CC0 gover governme nment nt to amelio ameliorat rate e income income inequality are !eginning to show results there!y possi!ly limiting its impact on Chin China’ a’s s econ econom omic ic deve develo lopm pmen ent# t# ;or e
China invested a!out :24#>!illion in infrastructure proects in the western regions amounting to #2@ of the country’s total annual investment in the region# (nstead of promoting the $estern -egion -egion as a la!or intensive manufacturing manufacturing region the government placed the focus on creating new industries and environmentally friendly technology to e
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coupled with rapid ur!ani.ation in the inland provinces has caused much ara!le land to !e wasted# ven for those that stayed !ac& as there are few resources availa availa!le !le for invest investmen ment t agricu agricultu ltural ral produ product ctivi ivity ty remai remains ns gros grossly sly ine'c ine'cien ient# t# Doreover with many farmers preferring to grow cash crops over food crops the pric prices es of food food are are pres pressu surred to incr increa ease se as food food supp supply ly !eco !ecome mes s scar scarce cer r undercutting the low cost of food the Chinese economy had leveraged on to grow# However preferential policies implemented to help the declining agrarian sector have also helped to contain some negative repercussions of income inequality on China China’s ’s econom economic ic develo developme pment# nt# he he gover governme nment nt has vowed vowed to &eep at least least 123mil 123millio lion n hecta hectare res s of ara!le ara!le lands lands for agricu agricultu lture re## ;rom rom 2338 2338 China China is also also purchasing farmlands on parts of Africa to grow its food# ;oreign food purchases are made from countrie countries s li&e li&e Aus Australi tralia a and Era.il# Fum!er Gne document document a direct direct su!sidy and elimination of ta China investment :24#>!illion in infrastural proects in the western regions amounting to #2@ of the country’s total annual investment in the region# ight &ey proects were were completed completed !y 233> 233> includin including g three three road road construc construction tion proects proects an airport airport e
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enemy of is not economic development !ut inequita!le distri!ution of resources# $ith su'cient political resolve income inequality is a pro!lem that can !e solved#
