Overpopulation in China curbed! Or is it?

We all love baby pandas. They're just so cute. But at a rate of 5.8 children per woman (total fertility rate) in the 70's, overpopulation seemed to be one of China's most imminent threats. But in this article by the Xinhua news network, China's population control policies are said to have curbed the growth rate significantly. The TFR is down to a stable 1.8 children per woman, the replacement levels have been (marginally) established. Had the growth rate in the 70's continued, said a Chinese minister, the Chinese population would have been an overwhelming 1.7 billion, as opposed to the not quite miniscule 1.3 billion. this is, however, a difference of 400 million people, nothing to sneeze at. (Sneeze at this instead.)

China would be a very different place with 400 million more mouths to feed and people to house. As if China's current growth weren't unsustainable enough, with nearly an extra 33% more Chinese growth itself may have been unsustainable. For these reasons, the Chinese government instituted stringent family planning laws that have since (as the article states) more than halved the birthrate. However, some of these rules are now being repealed or relaxed (most famously the one child policy), so it will be interesting to see how thing pan out in this sense. In my opinion, if China wishes to sustain its economic growth, it will have to continue watching its population growth very cautiously. Compared to Britain and Russia, it has a massive population, and due to Russia's high mortality rate, may have a higher population than both combined. One can even throw Iran in the numbers for good measure. That said, it also has far more massive raw and secondary goods sector, but like Britain, it is expanding into tertiary and quaternary economic activities. The former two favor a high population, while the latter two do not. Depending on the direction the incoming Chinese generational leaders decide to go, China's economic and population related futures may hang in the balance. Until then, I will leave you pandas with the cuter side of overpopulation:

China becoming Pakistan's primary arms supplier

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Summary:

Pakistan is increasingly turning to China to supply it with arms. Historically supplied by the United States, Pakistan's increasing instability has cooled relations and the US has been backing down from supplying arms. China, who is percieved as having less strings attached, has been perfectingly willing to supply the Pakistan's armed forces. Pakistan's unease with India's increasing power has led to a renewed program of modernization and expansion. A recently signed deal will supply Pakistan with 250 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets (pictured) and 6 submarines, and construction just began on 2 fast attack missile ships for the Pakistani Navy. Pakistan and China have experienced smooth relations with the Chinese forgiving loans and giving low interest rates. Despite this, China still remains cold do to a cultural emphasis on building trust with business partners and Pakistan is at risk of becoming overly dependent on the Chinese for their weapons. Regardless, the shift signals the increasing preminance of China as an arms supplier.

Significance:

Pakistan's turning to China to supply it's military needs shows China's new position as a much less stringent weapon supplier. It sets up the possibility of dependent nations being far more supportive of China and could give them more confidence to go against US wishes and could potenially lead to proxy wars with US and China supplying opposing sides. The shift of Pakistan to China might be the beginning of a new, low-level arms race, with both countries competing for the hearts and, more importantly, the check books of the worlds smaller nations.

Tibet's Achievements Celebrated

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Summary: In 1959 over 1 million serfs in Tibet were emancipated and March 28 marks the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet. It is also the third official Serfs Emancipation Day. Since its liberation, Tibet has seen life expectancy nearly double from 35.5 to 67 years. Tibet's GDP has also increased to $7.8 billion, which has been increasing by 12.4% each year since 2005. Because Tibet was one of the first places in China to provide free compulsory education, it has almost eliminated illeteracy. Although Tibet has been allowed to remain largely autonomous, its chairman, Padma Choling, says that "all the achievements should be attributed to the socialist system and the leadership of the Communist Party". He goes on to say that the democratic reform that took place 52 years ago is what allows Tibetans today to enjoy legal rights and interests.

Significance: Not mentioned in this article is that the Dalai Lama recently gave up his political role, which allows Tibet to have truly free elections. This experiment in democracy that China has been allowing for some time now is a great step in breaking the chains of Communism. People like to forget that America experimented with democracy on a smaller scale for a long time before it finally broke off from any ties of monarchy and Tibet will allow China to do much the same. China is also showing more leniency in village elections, which is how our democracy started out. And now these figures showing that a democratic portion of China is doing so well for itself is a beacon of hope for democracy. As long as the experiment that began 50 years ago can continue (and hopefully spread), then China is well on its way to becoming the biggest democracy in the world. And the fact that they're not trying to accomplish this overnight as so many other countries have done is a great sign that they may succeed. Of course, if Tibet loses the increasing prosperity that it's been experiencing since gaining autonomous rule, then Communism may clamp down even harder in China.

Unexpected Trade Gap in China

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Summary:

Two weeks ago, China reported a $7.3 billion trade deficit in February as imports rose sharply and exports declined slowly. Chinese officials, looking for a way to surmise what happened, said that much of the impact came from the Chinese New Year, which significantly reduces the export market for China annually. This was the first monthly trade deficit in China since March of 2010. Last month, imports totaled $104 billion, which was a whopping 19% higher than average. Chinese officials have reported that they are trying to improve this issue by promoting more domestic consumption, which is currently growing at a 20% year-over-year rate. Unfortunately for China, the New Year there accounted for a widespread work shortage. The fact that China traditionally exports far more than it imports has been a sore point in Washington, D.C. as the U.S. does just the opposite. As the U.S. tries to double its exports by 2015, experts strongly agree that China should allow its currency to appreciate. Americans also claim that China continues to undervalue its currency, allowing for more overseas trade.

Significance:

This article strongly pertains to what we talked about in terms of the international economy and how China purposely manipulates it. As the article states, China has allegedly tried to undervalue its currency so that it can be more attractive to foreign markets. This also ties into the fact that China is far less concerned about human rights issues and the like, which is why the U.S. is not pleased with the way they do business around the globe. They often overlook genocides and other harmful government acts and only look at prices. This article is also pertinent to our classroom discussions because of China's connection between the economy and the state. I was surprised that, since China's government is so concerned about the economic well-being of the country, it would still allow for export levels to drop. The government is extremely focused on maintaining a slow but steady growth rate, but it was able to overlook its economic goals for such a special occasion as the Chinese New Year.

China to send trade delegations US and EU

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Summary:

Over the course of the next year, China will be sending out four trade delegations, two to the United States and two various members of the EU. The focus of the delegations is increasing imports from these countries inorder to help bring down their trade surpluses with these nations. It is part of a larger effort by the Chinese government to increase imports and stabilize exports to obtain a more balanced economy. A particular focus of the efforts is to obtain high-tech, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly products. China is already planning to order a slew of these products from Japan at the upcoming China-Japan Green Economy Forum. Also, as part of the efforts, China is planning to reduce import tariffs to increase trade. Smaller delegations are also planned to be sent to other nations. Although economist wonder what real the world impact will be, the efforts do represent a new direction for the Chinese.

Significance:

The efforts show a concerted effort by China to prevent it's economy from overheating. Their awareness that an economy based so heavily on exports isn't such a could thing show progress from China. It will interesting to see if their efforts bear fruit. Also, their efforts to obtain green technology shows a novel concern about the environment, or at very least, a new effort to look good to the international community. Regardless of the intentions, the work China is putting towards a more balanced economy is going to be an interesting development for the future.

China to make life better for migrant workers

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Summary:

China has recently been realizing more and more that they have to consider the welfare of migrant workers. In response to welfare problems and illegal seizure of rural land, Chinese premier Wen had this to say: "We need to fully respect the right of farmers to independently choose whether to seek jobs in cities or stay in their home villages, and genuinely protect their legitimate rights and interests concerning land they contract to work and the land on which their homes sit." The Chinese realize that in order for rapid urbanization to continue, they must make urbanization and argiculture "mutually reinforcing". There are around 170 million migrant workers in China. To combat such a large number of people who require better housing, China plans to create more small to medium cities so that overcrowding in cities like Beijing lessens. Another problem discussed was the previously mentioned loss of rural land. By law, agricultural land is not allowed to be used for commercial purposes but despite this industrial hubs are still popping up all over the place. The land was specifically set aside for agriculture to ensure that the country always has enough food but that law is being increasingly undermined.

Significance:

This is yet another example of how China is diverging from the traditional Communist model. The Soviet Union was too concerned with catching up with the rest of the world as fast as possible in terms of industrialization and so they completely disregarded welfare. China however, has learned from the Soviet mistake and is looking to not only catch up industrially but in the standard of living as well. The reason for this being that they realize the two are intertwined. If China can keep the migrant workers happy, they can keep not only the permanent residents happy but also the rural families that depend on the migrants. The creation of small cities would most likely be great for the overcrowding in China but it would also require more agricultural land to be converted into construction land which could lead to a famine. If the Chinese can handle this welfare issue correctly, their economy may continue to boom at an even faster rate than predicted.

Military Budget Rise "Not a Threat"

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Summary:

On Friday of last week, government officials in China came together and proposed a plan to increase military spending to about the equivalent of $91.3 billion in 2011. Chinese government officials insist, however, that the additional expenditures are solely for national defense and are not meant to pose a threat on any major world power or other country. Li Zhaoxing, the spokesman for the annual parliamentary session, assured that the country wants to "forge peaceful, stable, equal and mutually-trusting relations with its neighbors." Much of the extra defense money will be used for improving armaments, military training, and human resource development. As China has always proclaimed to have done, government officials plan to keep economic development their primary priority while leaving the military on the back burners. According to government officials, "China attaches great importance to friendly relations with neighbors. Seeking peace, cooperation, and development is a shared view of all Asian people." Even with a population of around 1.3 billion, China's military spending averages are well below international averages. China continues to maintain a ratio of military spending to GDP of around 2%. In comparison to the United States, Chinese military spending is dwarfed. The U.S. spends around $725 billion annually, while China spends less than $90 billion on its military.

Significance:

China's continuing desire to produce and create a world-class economy is present here. While the U.S. and many other nations spend large amounts of money on their respective armed forces in comparison to their economies, China focuses more on its economy. With over a billion people to feed, China cannot afford to spend huge amounts of money on its military. The idea of a "Rule by the Technocrats," is also manifest here. These government leaders, often engineers, have a tendency to "make things work." By looking past the need for a powerful military, these leaders think the country will prosper. Every figure and every proposal is carefully and meticulously looked through in order to maximize government power and benefits. The idea of a strong central government is also present here because the government itself is the driving force behind economic growth and stimulation. With very little private property and many government-owned industries, the government can effectively control what happens in the economic sector.

Poor Children in China face malnutrition

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Summary:

Poor children in China's western provinces are frequently facing malnutrition. Their meals are provided free of charge by the government, but they mainly consist of soybeans and rice. A recent survey of children in three autonomous regions and one province, revealed that 12% of children 10 to 13 are stunted and 9% are underweight. A particular survey of a western boarding school found that 72% reported feeling hunger during lectures and a further 33% said they felt hungry nearly everyday. The nutrition is so bad that several of the children pass out during morning exercises. Of particular concern is the fact that the children are not getting nearly enough microelements. Iron, which is vital for memory development, was found to be extremely low in the children. The Chinese government has been significantly increasing funds to try and provide for the students, but the money is managed by the school leadership, rather than being directly handle by the government. So far little progress has been made.

Significance:

The child malnutrition present in the western provinces highlights the clear rift existing between the wealthly coast and economically backward interior. China's failure so far to handle the problem shows that the government either is uneffective or more probably aloof about the problem. The governments unwillingness to actively intervene seems to suggest that the rich coast is more important to Beijing. Even if this is not the case, people in the interior might see it that and that could lead to malcontent with the government. Regardless, the problem represents a significant issue among China's interior populace.