Why should the United States of America fear the rise of
China? There are a few reasons. First, China’s economy has quadrupled in size
since market reforms in the 1970’s. They also have become a major manufacturing
center which consumes about a third of the global supply of iron, steel, and
coal. Second, it is said that China’s military spending has increased 18% in
the last few years. Not only do they pose as an economic threat, but now
Americans are worried they can compete with our military.
Both of these fears can be explained
with a little bit of background knowledge. Of course China’s economy is going
grow faster than the United States. They just started developing their markets 30
years ago; therefore, they are just catching up to our level. They are believed
to have one of the largest economies because the country has a population of
1.35 billion, one fifth of the world’s population, compared to the U.S.’s fewer
than 400 million. Also, China may be building up their military, but we should
not automatically assume they are planning to destroy the U.S.. China is
undergoing many domestic problems such as the growing discontent of rural
farmers and migrants. Their leaders are putting more focus on that issue which
explains why their military is growing.
The United States should not feel
threatened by China yet. We should invest our time and money into our countries
education and industry so we remain more advanced. China would not benefit from
attacking us if they depend on us to keep their industries flourishing. It
makes me feel uneasy that they are now controlling and owning most of our
industries, but that does not seem like a beginning of world domination. For
example, on the back of every iPhone, it says “Designed by Apple in California,
Assembled in China.” This proves we provide the brain power, and they provide
the work power. I prefer brain power over cheap labor.
What worries me the most is the
amount of Chinese students enrolling in American colleges. Between 2009 and 2010,
57,000 Chinese students were enrolled in American colleges. It is true having exchange
students creates good relations with foreign nations, but how do we expect to
stay ahead if they are competing at the same level as our youth? They can take
their knowledge back to China and become better innovators than we are.
However, I firmly believe every American naturally has the drive and the
passion to rise above their competitors.
I’ll end off with a quotation I
found in one of the articles I was reading: “Under capitalism, man exploits
man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.” This means any form of
government is going to exploit someone and we should not feel threatened by
China’s growth based off of our different ideologies.
Good post. There is, however, a potential constructivist mechanism embedded in your argument that might help explain why China and the US may not become enemies -- educational exchange. Chinese students are likely to become socialized to some American ideals whilst studying here and they will take those back with them when they return. Many constructivist scholars argue, for example, that similar educational experiences makes people think alike. And people that think alike are less likely to fight.
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