Politics and Government of China - Case Study Example

Politics and Government of China s China is a located in the East of the Asian continent. Its capital is Beijing, and its geographical coordinates are 35 00 N and 100 00 E. It shares its borders with countries such as Hong Kong, Burma, North Korea, and Vietnam. It has the fourth largest land area in the world (It is smaller than the US). In total, its land area is 9,596, 960 square kilometers and a coastline of 14, 500km (Chinability, n.d.). The large land surface is inclusive of the water bodies such as lakes and rivers. In addition, the Chinese landmass covers 5000 kilometers from the east to the west and 270, 550 kilometers from the north to the south. It climates ranges from tropical to subarctic. Most of the areas of China as mainly mountainous save for the other areas made up of high plateaus, deserts and a few hills. It is well endowed with natural resources that range from natural gas, mercury, rare-earth minerals, and Zinc (Chinability, n.d.). The population of China is the largest in the world. Its population is estimated to be 1.4 billion people. The growth rate is 0.9 percent between the years 2010 and 2012. The median age for the population is 36.4 years. The Chinese population has 56 ethnic groups. The dominant ethnic group is the Han Chinese, which makes up 92 percent of the total population. The remaining 8 percent is made up of other ethnic minority groups. The people between 15 and 64 years make up 68 percent of the population. The children below the age of 14 make up 25 percent of the population. In addition, the older people who are 65 years and older make up only 7% of the population. China has a life expectancy of 70 years. The country also enjoys a low infant mortality compared to most countries of the world (Chinability, n.d.). The Chinese have a rich cultural background. Their culture is influenced by conservative philosophies. The Chinese culture has a deep sense of national history. Art, dance, healthy familys ties, and obedience to the leaders heavily influence its culture. The most common religion in China is Buddhism. The other existing religions are Islam, Christianity, and Taoism. Another entrenched Chinese culture is its cuisine. In China, rice and wheat based products are a staple. These are foods that define the people of China together with local vegetables and during special occasion’s meat such as pork. History of Chinese economy China has experienced a rapid expansion in its economy, and it has emerged to be a global economic giant. This economic growth has seen its bilateral trade with the US increase from an estimated $5 billion to $562 in a period of 23 years (Morrison, 2014). During the 20th century, the Chinese ruling government tightly controlled and planned the economy of China. The government ultimately controlled a large share of its country economic output. The government used the state-owned enterprises to run most of the industrial productions. The government had restricted foreign trade. Foreign trade was limited to obtain the goods, which could not be made or locally acquired in China. As a result of strict policy and physical control, the Chinese economy was inefficient and became stagnant. There was the lack of profit incentives, foreign trade, and imports. This resulted in lower living standards of the Chinese. However, the turnaround of the Chinese economy occurred in the late 1970’s when its economy was reformed in line with free market principles and was opened for trade with the West. Introduction of economic reforms The economic reforms introduced by the Chinese government during the late 1970’s helped China gravitate towards better economic achievements. For a start, the government allowed farmers the freedom of selling part of their produce in the free market. To improve Chinas industrial capability the central government set up economic zones that attracted foreign direct investments and thus boosted its exports. New policies were introduced in many sectors of the economy. The major sector that was boosted by the new policies was trade, which saw the introduction of the free market principles and tax incentives. The change in these policies boosted the economic performance of China. Challenges that the Chinese have to address (Morrison, 2014) As has been illustrated above, the Chinese economy has been robust and experienced remarkable growth. However, this growth has not been immune to challenges. The existence of these challenges has inhibited further growth and has made Chinas future uncertain. These challenges include underdeveloped free market economy, undervalued currency; policies made by the government and dependence on exports and fixed income. Underdeveloped Free Market China’s market cannot be referred to as a free market since the forces of demand and supply do still not apply to the economy. The government plays a huge role in the economy of China. The government involvement in the economic affairs inhibits the forces of demand and supply from guiding the market. Retrogressive policies and the use of SOEs The Chinese government has greatly employed policies in the administration of the economy. Most of these policies created state-owned enterprises that are involved in almost 50 percent of the Chinese economy. These state-owned enterprises control and had dominance in a number of key sectors that include mining, telecommunications, transportations and utilities. As such, the state-owned enterprises are shielded from competition. The Government controlled Banking System The Chinese banking system is under the tight control of the government. The government thus controls the flows of credit to industries that it deems to be key in the economic well-being of China. In other words, the state-owned enterprises get preferential treatment when they apply for funds. The state-owned banking system also offered state-owned firms credit at lower interests rates as compared to the privately owned firms. However, these state-owned firms default on the repayments, leaving the banks with huge bills of non-performing loans. The ultimate result is the weakness of the banking system. A weak banking system cannot support the economy when it requires money. Hence, the investors may miss on opportunities, which they would have otherwise been able to clinch if they had gotten the financial backup. Undervaluing of Currency The Chinese government tightly controls its currency, and it does not allow it to float. By undervaluing its currency, the Chinese government make exports from China to be cheap while its imports to be expensive. The government hopes to reduce the number of imports while making the Chinese exports to be competitive (Morrison, 2014). The strategy employed by the government is successful in lowering the costs involved with the factor of production but increases the costs of services. Rise in Pollution Levels The economic growth in China was achieved by reliance on heavy industries. The model was effective. However, the byproducts of the model were heavy pollution and huge amount of energy consumed. The high number of heavy industries led to environmental pollution. Economic growth and success are favored over the well-being of the environment. Rampant Corruption There is widespread corruption in China. Successful firms are determined based on their connections with the government and not on their output. The Chinese lack a system of check and balances that oversees the functions of the government and hold it accountable. The United States of America is a nation that was formed after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. It is a union of 50 states across the North American continent. Each of the 50 states has their cities, but the administrative city of the federal government is Washington, D.C. Its geographical coordinates are 38 00 N and 97 00 W. It shares its borders with two countries Canada and Mexico. In addition, it also borders the North Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean. In total, its land area is 9,826,675 square kilometers and a coastline of 19,924 km (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010). Based on these figures it is evident that USA is slightly large than China. USA, just like China has a varied climate. Most of the areas of the USA enjoy a temperate climate. However, some other areas experience tropical climate while other areas experience semiarid and arid climate. The USA has vast plains, mountains, hills, rivers and valleys. The US has resources ranging from copper, bauxite, uranium, natural gas, and coal. The population of the USA is a quarter of the China’s population. The population of the United States is around 0.3 Billion people. The growth rate of this population is 0.77 percent between the years 2012 and 2014. The median age for this population is 37.6 years (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010). The USA population is made up of people from diverse cultures. The majority ethnic group is the whites, who make up almost three-quarters of the population. African Americans and Asians fill up the remaining percentage. Similar to China, the people between the ages of 15 and 64 years represent 66 percent of the population. The children below the 14 years of age represent 20 percent of the population. In the USA, persons who are more than 65 years represent 14 percent of the entire population. The life expectancy in the USA is 79 years old. The infant mortality in the USA is much lower than that of the Chinese. Culture in the United States has a wide array of traditions. Being the third largest country in the world with a population of 0.3 billion (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010), it, therefore, follows that U.S. has a diverse culture. The diversity has been brought by the coming together of many different cultures from every part of the world. The U.S. is a melting point of many cultures (Zimmerman, 2015). In the U.S., there is no official language as almost every language is spoken in the U.S. Most official work is conducted in English; therefore each person has to understand or speak some English. In accordance with the data at the U.S. Census Bureau, the US alone is home to 300 dialects. In the United States, the citizens have the freedom of worship. As such, most of the known religions are practiced in the U.S. the religions practiced in the U.S. include Christianity (widely practiced), Judaism, and Muslim. The U.S. also has a culture inspired by clothing. The different clothing styles depend on not only social status but also on religious background, and occupation (Zimmerman, 2015). For instance, jeans, cowboy hats and sweatshirts At the present moment, the US has the most powerful economy in the world. Unlike in China, where the Chinese government through state-owned enterprises controls nearly half of the economy, private individuals and enterprises mainly control the US economy. The individual investors enjoy flexible terms of accessing credit, equality in accessing jobs and the freedom of developing new markets. However, the local business stationed in the US face bottlenecks when they want to access the economies of its rivals, like China. The barriers in the rivals markets are ironical since the foreign firms entering the USA market do not face such high barriers. The economy of the US is supported by labour that is divided into two groups. The first is the uneducated, unskilled labour and the second is the professional and skilled labour. The former is relegated to the bottom of the labour pyramid where they receive the minimum or small wages. At the top of the labour pyramid, is the technical and skilled professionals who earn the top wages. Another challenge that affects the US economy is the heavy reliance on the imported oil. As such, the economy is sensitive to the changes that occur due to disruption in supply or the effects of supply and demand. Unlike the Chinese government, the US government does not control or determine the direction the economy goes. The economy is a free market, which is determined by demand and supply. The US government role is to provide and formulate policies that guide the markets and ensure smooth operations. In addition, it plays an oversight role as it ensures that every organization or individual acts within the set of rules and regulations. References Chinability. (n.d.). GDP Growth in China, 1952-2011. Retrieved from Chinability: http://www.chinability.com/GDP.html Morrison, W. (2014, October 9). China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States. Congressional Research Services, pp. 1-42. U.S. Department of Commerce. (2010). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Commerce: http://www.census.gov/ Zimmermann, K. A. (2015, January 15). American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States. Retrieved from LiveScience: http://www.livescience.com/28945-american-culture.html Read More