By Huang Qing
Over the last decade or so, China's economy has made impressive
advances and its foreign trade has grown by dramatic margins. As a
result, the country is now a dynamo of the world economy and an
active member of the world economic system.
The country's economic achievements are considered something of
a wonder by the international community, including Western
countries. At the same time, however, some people have begun to
harbor misgivings and worries about China, which, if carried to
extremes, find expression in various "China threat" theories.
In the 1990s, the question of "who feeds China" was
representative of such "China misgivings".
Lester Brown, founder of the US-based Worldwatch Institute,
first raised the question of "who will feed China?" Brown, a
researcher noted for meticulous scholarship, was worried that the
country's huge population and economic situation would eventually
lead to worldwide food shortages.
However, these worries have not borne out by the facts. Still,
Brown's ideas about sustainable development and environmental
protection have been accepted by China's leadership and, therefore,
have helped shape the national policies of the country.
More recently, "worries and anxieties about China" are chiefly
reflected in the claims that China causes dislocations in the
global economy: that China is responsible for global warming and
strains world energy supplies. The "military threat" posed by China
has also been trumpeted in recent years.
In the opinion of this writer, such worries stem primarily from
the changes taking place in the world and Chinese economies.
The global industrial structure has undergone a major
realignment as a result of globalization, with many low-end
manufacturing operations being transferred to the developing
world.
China, as a result, has become a center of low-end production,
or a kind of "workshop of the world".
There is no doubt that the country has benefited a lot from this
process. Its foreign trade, for example, has increased in sharp
upward swings, and it thus enjoys fairly large favorable trade
balances.
It should, however, be noted that China, as a low-end
manufacturing hub, reaps only a very small portion of the profits
generated by the global industrial production chain.
At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the country
supplies enormous quantities of good and cheap commodities to the
world and, therefore, helps Western countries avoid inflation and
maintain high living standards.
From a monetary perspective, China's foreign-exchange reserves
are expanding fast as a result of the favorable trade balances it
enjoys, and, on the other hand, China helps maintain the
international monetary balance by buying Western monetary products,
such as US government bonds.
As a center of low-end manufacturing operations, the country has
naturally been consuming more energy and resources. But it is not
fair to place the responsibility for global warming and strains on
the energy supply on China alone.
First of all, global warming is the cumulative effect of human
beings' carbon discharges over the period of centuries. China's
transformation into an industrialized country was only a few
decades ago, while the West made that step 100 to 200 years ago.
Historical accounts should be settled through historical
perspectives.
Second, per capita carbon discharges in China are still smaller
than they are in the West.
Third, the principle of collective responsibility should be
applied when it comes to carbon discharges. In other words, the
responsibility ought to be evenly shared by the beneficiaries of
industrial production. Since Western countries use large amounts of
commodities produced in China, they should therefore shoulder part
of the responsibility for the pollution, instead of enjoying all
the fruits while pointing fingers at the supplier.
As a matter of fact, China places as much importance on matters
of global warming and energy-supply strains as Western countries
do. Reducing waste discharges and energy consumption, for instance,
are part of China's national policy. Many compulsory measures have
been taken at the expense of many short-term interests.
China's enormous population is a big multiplier, and it makes
the product of any per capita increases formidable. This may be one
of the origins of "worries about China".
However, China has the right to develop and no other country can
strip the Chinese people of this basic human right. Developed
countries, in particular, should have a sense of justice when
addressing global environment-protection issues.
On the other hand, China needs to reflect on the Western
production model and way of life and seek out an energy-saving and
environmentally friendly path to development that is suited to its
own particular conditions.
Economic globalization brings both anxiety and benefits.
Throughout world history, examples abound of people seeking out
others on whom they can vent their worries and anxieties.
A Chinese saying has it that nobody envies a mediocre man. Now
that China is on the rise, it naturally draws envy from others.
We should analyze all the "worries and anxieties about China"
and absorb some useful elements. As for the "China worries" as
venting - we do not have to be too worried about them. Instead, we
should just concentrate on our own business and do our own things
well.
The author is a council member of the China Foundation of
International Studies.
(China Daily July 20, 2007)
