Can China be friends with the U.S.?

Recently, New York Times published a article that showed a statistic of Asian-American enrollments in American Ivy League schools. There have been a near 50% decline of Asian enrollments over the last two decades. 25% of the Chinese exchange student will likely to drop out of their Ivy League schools. 40% of the current student enrolled in Cal Tech are Asians with some Chinese descent. Those who graduate, majority of them return home to China and seek their careers there.

Most of the current upper-middle classes of the Chinese social-economy are educated in either America or Europe. By studying abroad, these graduates were able to take the business, marketing, management, and technical skills the have learned to apply them to China's vast human and natural resources. Thus, producing the current modern economic power that U.S. is becoming so wary of.

Should U.S. be concerned? Maybe. Since the main reason why these Chinese students are dropping out are due to the lack of social skills with the native-born Americans. Chinese students emphasize a great deal in studying over partying and socialization. This is a concern because, these exchange students represent some the best educated and financially well established families in China. And they are essentially the next generation of leaders of the Chinese politics and economy.

While a total war with China may seem unlikely in the present. Since China knows in realpolitik they lack the current military and economic power to challenge NATO for military hegemony. But what about in 20 years or 30 years? When these Chinese Ivy League graduates becomes the Premier of the Communist government or the CEO of Baidu or the Commander in Chief of the Chinese Armed Forces, and they don't get along with the American Ivy League graduates (since the majority of U.S. Presidents and top officials are Ivy League graduates), what then?

I think the best solution to prevent future wars between the two greatest superpowers is to be friends with the Chinese exchange students that are studying here. Let them come to our frat partying, be less awkward. We know they are incredibly smart and ambitious, they like to study, it's cool. In 30 years when they become President(s) of China, and we became CEO of Bloomberg or Secretary of State, we can say hey we were friends in college. Lets not fight each other.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/19/fears-of-an-asian-quota-in-the-ivy-league/statistics-indicate-an-ivy-league-asian-quota

http://shanghaiist.com/2013/10/30/25_of_chinese_students_in_ivy_leagu.php

http://qz.com/287327/six-charts-that-show-dilma-rousseffs-challenges-in-brazil-are-just-beginning/

U.S. Responses to the Growth of China

U.S. Responses to the Growth of China

     Despite what many may attempt to argue, the world of international politics is currently mired in the same unipolar structure that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and saw the United States stand alone as the last great power remaining on the planet.  However, China is clearly on the rise and knocking on the hypothetical door of great power status.  Possessing the largest population in the world at 1.35 billion individuals, natural buffers on all sides and the third most land area of any country on the planet, the potential has always been there. (Central Intelligence Agency 2014)  Over the past 36 years, China has realized said potential, averaging a GDP growth rate of 9.85% during that time frame and establishing itself as an influential factor in global politics. (The World Bank 2014)  The United States must elect on a response to the threat posed by China and must do it as soon as possible so that there is adequate time for the measures put in place to take effect.  When all options are considered, a solution based on the foreign policies of liberalism and constructivism becomes the clear best choice.

     When a unipolar system is in place and the power state’s position atop the pyramid is threatened, the question of what the power state should do, if anything, in response to the threat must be considered.  Before deciding on a proper response to the power threat presented by China, the United States must first decide on a goal.  Responses will differ based on whether or not the goal of the United States is to eliminate or mitigate the threat posed by China or if the goal is to allow China to become a comparable power but minimize hostilities between the two states.  It is assumed that the goal of the United States is to mitigate the rise of China due to ideological differences and the intent to remain in as close to absolute power as possible.

     If the United States hopes to eliminate the threat posed by China, a realist approach to foreign policy would be highly costly.  Any type of one on one military conflict with China would likely see the United States come out the victor eventually, based on military expenditures. (Freeman 2014)  However, should Russia align with China and the European Union align with the United States, then not only would the outcome of such a conflict be less predictable, but the world’s economy could be crippled for decades.

     A liberalist or constructivist approach would have the United States act through global institutions, alongside other states, to hasten China’s growth through non-militaristic means.  One possible, albeit highly unlikely and economically crippling, non-militaristic method to limit China’s growth could be to minimize the purchasing of goods manufactured in the country and instead look to other regions for cheap manufacturing, like Latin America, South America, and Africa.  Without the largest purchasing power in the world as a significant consumer of its goods, China’s economy would take a hit similar to the one it took in 2008 during the recession in the United States. (Schmidt 2009)  However, it would prove very difficult for the United States to find a producer or group of producers that could replicate the sheer scale at which China manufactures cheap goods and would be next to impossible to rationalize such an action to the international community.  That being said, if the United States could convince the European Union to curtail purchasing of goods manufactured in China under the shroud of workers’ rights and disregard for environmental consequences on the part of China, it would likely be the last, best chance to keep the United States the one great power in a unipolar world.

Central Intelligence Agency. "China." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 June 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Freeman, Sam-Perlo, and Carina Solmirano. "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2013."Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. SIPRI Publications, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.

Schmidt, Dirk. "The Financial Crisis and Its Impact on China." Studies on China's Political Economy. Ed. Sebastian Heilmann. 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.chinapolitik.de/resources/no_67.pdf>.

The World Bank. "China." The World Bank. The World Bank Group, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects/data?region=EAP>.

The Rise of China

Should the rise of China be of concern to the United States? Many people believe that we are living in a unipolar world with the United States as the world’s great power. However, a unipolar world opens up the possibility of instability as other powers rise. With China’s extremely large population and a rapidly growing economy, it has the potential to alter the international system. Thus, the United States should be concerned about the rise of China as it could destroy this unipolar world.

            China is not the wealthiest state of the Northeast Asian states. Despite the fact that Japan takes that title, China’s rapid economic growth gives it the potential to become the wealthiest state of Northeast Asia and wealthier than the United States. Since 1990, China’s GDP growth has been between 8 and 12 percent (Lecture 13). China’s economic growth can be seen by looking at a picture of Shanghai in 1990 and then 2010. The growing economy is making China an important and influential role in the global economy. If China’s economy continues to grow at this rapid pace, it could become the wealthiest state and the greatest power of Northeast Asia, which would make it a threat to the United States.

            It is well known that present-day China does not possess significant military power. China’s military power is inferior compared to the United States. In a comparison of states with the highest military expenditure in 2012, the United States was at 39 percent while China was at 9.5 percent (Lecture 13). However, it has been forecasted that China’s military spending will increase with time (Lecture 13). China’s military power could increase with time as long as the economy continues to grow. A powerful economy is essential to a strong military presence; the larger China’s economy gets then the stronger its military could become.

            Seeing as that population size is a building block of military power, China’s enormous population could also help create a stronger military presence. China now has more than four times the population size than the United States and is projected to have three times as many by 2050 (nationalinterest.org). The large population size of China could give it a significant leg up in military power. If China can grow its military, the United States should be concerned about it becoming a great power and altering the international system.

            In all, the United States should be concerned about China’s economic growth. If China’s economy slows, it cannot become a great power. Thus, the United States should have an interest in seeing the Chinese economic growth slow. Yet, since China has shown a strong potential to become a great power over the past decade, the United States should be concerned about the rise of China if it wishes to remain the world’s great power.

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/can-china-rise-peacefully-10204

  

Critiques of China as a World Power

            People talk about how China is going to become the next world power and surpass the United States, but I do not think China has the capabilities to do that unless they change their ways on some issues.

First of all, China needs to fix their pollution problem. Their problem with pollution is not only hurting the people who live there, but also hurting the environment. Having been there myself, I can say that the pollution there is terrible. The sky is always grey, despite what the tour guide said, which brings upon a slightly depressing feeling. The only time I think I might have seen a glimpse of blue sky was in Hong Kong. Apparently the day before I arrived in Beijing, people could barely see the length of a football field in front of themselves. I came across some plants that would be covered in a light layer of grey dust. When going to the Great Wall, the tour group could not see anything when trying to take a picture of the “great” view. If you tried to take a picture of the view, the picture would just be a white wall which the tour guide called “heavenly mist”. If China could cut down on the pollution, then more people would live longer and resources might be more abundant for them.

            Second, China needs a better healthcare system and care about the people more. When your guide is walking you through the streets of Shanghai, it is an unfortunate sight to see people missing limbs with no place to go because they have no money. It is terrible to see these people had to make their own crutch or skate board to be able to get around so they can hopefully get money from a passerby. Of all the places that I have been to, I have never seen so many handicapped people asking for money in one place. China should care that these people cannot support themselves. This shows a disregard to human rights of handicapped people who cannot work to support themselves. The people should not be forced out onto the street because he or she was born different or lost a limb in an accident. China should take care of their people better especially the poor. If the poor can afford housing, it is very cramped housing. The people live in a small room on a complex with tons of people. If one person were to get sick, then the whole complex could catch it. The living conditions are also quite dirty with so many people living in one place.

            Also, China artificially subsidizes businesses especially real estate to force a netter rate of return and profit for the business and economy as a whole. Plus they are subsidizing housing and putting a lot of money into the military which long term they will not be able to afford. And besides coal they do not have a lot of natural resources so importing what they need is very expensive. Finally they stifle true entrepreneurs and innovators and do not encourage origination for one's self but all for the State. Throughout history, this does not work long term.

To become a powerful nation, China must severely cut back on their pollution and work on treating their citizens better. China really has to reform if it wants to become the next great power.