Chinas Economic Advantages - Essay Example

China’s Economic Advantages and its continued global Dominance Introduction It still remains a mystery to see China rise from great economic turmoil to being the second biggest economy judging by its gross domestic product, after US. Today, China dominates over the once economic giants. China’s economic breakthrough has had a number of challenges dating back from its early trade with the rest of the world in the pre modern trade; before the end of the Dark Ages. It was during this time that China’s success in commerce also expanded to its military base, owning the world’s best navy at that time. It also was during that time, around the 15th Century, that China experienced a number of threats that changed its economic and military pride. This essay aims at looking at some of the factors that led to China’s rise in both commerce and military ability in Eurasia in the 14th and 15th century and why it had advantage over other nations that traded together with it. It will also strive to explain some of the factors that eventually led to its downfall, and getting farther from achieving the global economic dominance. The first factor that made China thrive economically and militarily was the presence of the Mongols in China who invaded the nation and took control of its administration under the Yuan dynasty. Before the emergence of the Mongols who conquered China, the Chinese were not very active in trade. In fact, trade was much discouraged by their ruler under Song Dynasty, and thus they only received goods they wanted through an elaborate system of tribute. When these Mongols eventually conquered China, the nation began trading with the outside world. This led to trade expansion not only in China but also opened room for trade in the outside world (Deal 129). The Mongols promoted trade in China by offering security to caravan traders who were moving long distances for exchange of goods and services. They guarded the path which cut from Asia to Russia hence ensuring safety of caravans from robbers who instilled fear on the earlier traders. The Mongols were united under Yuan and were well organized both in war and in trade. Their emergence reshaped China, rising from a humble nation to one that caught the world’s attention with its commerce and highly advanced technology. Added to China’s advantage was the fact that it had a large population which provided labor and ready market for its produced goods. Its population offered a great advantage to traders who channeled their goods to China since there was large market with willing buyers and willing sellers dealing in silk and other products. Slaves were in abundance for exchange. Another factor which boosted Chinese expansion of trade was the opening of the Silk Road. The Silk Road covered parts of the Middle East and extended to parts of Russia. The road was a convenient way through which traders could transport their goods to and from China to their destination. This was a boost to the growing influence of China as a hub of commerce in the world. Another factor that made China thrive in trade is the kind of political peace it enjoyed under the Mongol’s Yuan dynasty. Being a dynasty with strong political background, China enjoyed peace and was free from external attack. The Mongols were an organized lot with strong military base; a factor which had a direct impact on trade. China’s economic meltdown came as a result of a number of factors. It is important to look at such factors in relation to their effect not only in China but also in other countries that formed part of Eurasian trade. The most known cause for the decline in China’s economic strength is the emergence of the Black Death. It is believed that the plague commonly known as the Black Death began its spread from the Chinese Mongols, spreading all the way to other parts of Europe and many parts of the Middle East (Lin 19). The Black Death also known as the bubonic plague fuelled the collapse of Yuan dynasty. It is this establishment of this dynasty upon which the Eurasian trade depended on. When this plague began to spread, its impact was largely felt in China. It reduced the Yuan population drastically, leaving it incapable of taking control of the trade. Most goods could not reach the Mongols since people feared physical contact with them. This factor weakened China’s commerce hence could not continue to dominate in the global market (Benedictow 202). What might have perhaps reduced its naval strength is the too much struggle in the imperial court between the Confucians who were at the mercy of the palace eunuchs. The Confucian courtiers deeply relied on the power of the eunuchs who offered much support to them. Due to this reason, China’s navy stood at a great step of vulnerability from any attack that would have cropped up. What finally led to the collapse of its naval base is the completion of the Grand Canal, which was considered to be very safe and efficient mode of transporting grains. Prior to that, China boasted of owning the largest army by size with sophisticated war machines and warships. China’s navy could not be compared to any navy on earth. Most of the navy’s ships were used on trade mission to carry goods and to offer maximum security to Chinese merchants. However, with the establishment of the Grand Canal to complement marine transport, the navy had little or no work in offering security to the ships that were ferrying goods since the Canal proved the most efficient mode of transport. They were thus rendered irrelevant since China did not rely on it for security against external attacks (Chai 84). China’s collapse in trade and naval base was further heightened by its pride in seeing themselves rise from a humble beginning to being superior to the West in both commerce and technology. It therefore ignored the West, refusing absolutely to trade with them. At one time they even turned down the British merchants who brought their goods for exchange citing that they did not want any foreign good since there was nothing they lacked. Their pride made their rulers ignore commerce; the natives were no longer interested in education or acquisition of technological advancement. The military was no longer interested in offering external security as well. This made China vulnerable to the subsequent attacks that followed. Its economy deteriorated by the constant rebellion from its people, a remarkable one being the Taiping rebellion which weakened its economy even further and when world war II began, China’s economy reduced to a mere financially struggling nation. Works Cited Benectow, Jorgen. The Black Death 1346-1353: The Complete History. Woodbridge: The boydell press, 2004. Print Chai, Joseph. An Economic History of Modern China. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar publishing, 2011. PrintBottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Deal, William, Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. New York: Infobase, 2006. Print Lin, Justin. Demystifying the Chinese Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2012. Print Read More