The Rise of China Good and the Pursuit of Global Justice - Essay Example

Is the rise of China good or bad news for the pursuit of global justice? How should the world dealwith it? The clash of ideas and opinions between people is bound to happen no matter how hard they try to create harmony for everyone or everything in this world, although fundamentally same, has its own distinct features. In the same way, opinions between countries are likely to be clashed as well and, sometimes, it becomes exceedingly difficult to settle their disputes effectively. Therefore, in such cases, a country with great power and authority steps in to guide the world by taking the headship in its hands in order to ensure equality and justice around the world. The leader country with sheer power and authority defines the concept of justice for the rest of the world by mutual agreement. Consequently, after the approval, the idea is applied throughout the world. From past several years, the United Stated of America has firmly determined the whole idea of global justice by playing the role of the leader of the world. China’s provision of a better alternative to Capitalism, supply of loans to Britain and other countries for the construction of infrastructure and its remarkable performance in the educational field prove that the rise of China promises a good future for the world as a whole, however, instead of just conforming to the Chinese system, every country should decide the concept of fairness for itself from a clear perspective of global justice (Jacques). The rise of a new era is currently being witnessed by the people of this world. Europe was considered to be the central authority of the world nearly 200 years ago. Later, it was replaced by the United States of America as the leader of the world. At present, we are barely aware of the fact that China is very slowly replacing America as the leading nation, steadily marking the end of American era by giving birth to a new global order. Martin Jacques, the author of "When China Rules the world", predicted through a Goldman Sachs chart that the US economy would be overtaken by China until 2027. However, it is just a prediction and the impossibilities regarding the whole concept of China ruling the world cannot be neglected altogether. Conversely, if we observe China’s current system and policies, it can be concluded that China is not like West. It is more of a civilization state rather than a nation state. This is the only explanation as to why Chinese have this innate sense of harmony and solidity. In the same way, their respect and admiration for their state and the acceptance of beliefs like "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong embodies them with the sense of civilization unlike Europe’s experience of a nation (Jacques). The Chinese work as a family where each member of the household performs their assigned duties, thereby equally contributing to the prosperity of the family. Their sense of unity and dedication to the state certainly does not allow observing China through the prism of West. While America is busy flaunting its greater power and hold on the world, China is engaged in work. The whole country is gripped by a fresh wave of optimism and hopefulness. According to survey conducted in 2010, only 24% people in America and 20% in Britain felt positive about the economic conditions of their respective countries as compared to the massive 91% population of China. Chinese economy is growing at the rate of approximately 9 to 10% per year and that is exactly the reason behind the predictions regarding the rise of China over US in the next two decades. China currently exports a gigantic amount of manufactured goods and imports enormous amounts of natural goods. In 2011, it surpassed even America in the trading business, consequently, becoming the largest producer of manufactured goods in the whole world. It is indeed a great achievement on the part of China mainly because America held this privilege for almost 110 years (Jacques). Keeping in view these diverse yet impressive characteristics of the Chinese community, it will be impossible to still cling to the American system over the next two decades when China replaces America as the greatest power of the world. This calls for a thorough understanding of the policies of Chinese system in order to understand its part in the pursuit of global justice. Non-western nations were compelled to understand west during the Western rise in 19th and 20th centuries in order to keep pace with the changing world. Similarly, it is important to recognize that China’s concepts of race are different from our ideas. It may prove to be a humungous task for the world as it hardly ever sees towards the east for guidance and supervision. For instance, the dismissal of the leading contender of China, Bo Xilai did not get much attention in the western Media. Similarly, the coverage given to China’s matters by BBC and several other notable newspapers and news channels is almost negligible as compared the coverage given to US elections. This lack of attention towards China needs to be dealt with as soon as possible (Jacques). Moreover, our cultural and economic values have constantly been neglecting China for a long time now. For instance, Ireland receives more exports from Britain than do China, Russia, Brazil and India combined. Either we address these questions related to China or get ready to be neglected by the history altogether. China’s marvelous economic growth, staring from 1978, is now 20 times larger than the current American economy. Martin Jacques claims that a simple visit to Beijing, the capital city of China, can confirm all the claims regarding ever amplifying Chinese progress and prosperity in the modern world. The place is overflowing with positive energy for a superior future. As far as the financial conditions are concerned, China is rapidly surfacing as a great financial power. China has come a far way from where Britain or America is standing at the moment. Beijing now resembles Washington in 1950 and London in 1850 with their enhanced financial and economic conditions as well as the cultural situation. All this has been made possible by the unity and genuine concerns of the Chinese for the rise of their country in order to make it a prominent nation of the world (Jacques). As china slowly becomes the great global power, it is definite that it will shape the future precedence and policies of the world. It is not atypical to harbor the fear of China turning into an arrogant leader as happened with America. However, on the other hand, the case is actually otherwise. China is still struggling with the problems of inequality in its own state due to the large population of 1.3 billion people. It is highly unlikely that a country which has gone through all the stages of development as arduously as China will turn its face away from the world after becoming the global power. The improvement in China’s behavior towards the world can be evaluated on the basis of the fact that the China Development Bank and China Exim Bank provided more loans and funds to developing countries than the World Bank in 2009 and 2010. Therefore, it is rational for the world in general and the American and western nations in particular, to understand Chinese policies in order to make it certain that the rest of the world follows the best available system to bring progress, advancement and global justice to the world (Jacques). In the past few decades, America has defined the concept of global justice by acting as the leader of this world but with the rise of China, the concept of global justice is slowly changing as well. It can be concluded that this change is certainly positive based on the facts and statistics mentioned above. However, the main concern is how the world is supposed to act towards this alteration. An interesting instance explaining the rise of China as an emerging power is the sweltering lecture given by the first senior Chinese leader, Wen Jiabao, at the World Economic Forum, a forum that draws top bankers, government officials and leaders from all around the world. He did not maintain a low profile and succeeded in marking the event with his distinguished presence through his searing and intense lecture. This confidence has become more prevalent in Chinese society after the global economic crisis of 2008 and 2009. The global economic crisis affected many dominant nation of the world including the United States of America; however, China survived this colossal economic catastrophe rather sturdily. Policy makers and journalists around the world have begun to suspect their own capitalist model of development while, on the other hand, China has started to uphold its model of development that is the total opposite of American capitalism (Kurlantzick (b)). A professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing told the International Herald that it is quite probable for China to replace Washington Consensus with Beijing consensus given the current ascend in the economic, financial, educational and cultural conditions as a whole. China’s model of development is changing too with the passage of time; however, the government still has a high degree of control over the economy despite the creation of feasible atmosphere for external investment in the country. Chinese leaders and the people throughout the country in general have become confident of their position as a successful country in the world. This confidence is the result of China’s survival during the recent global economic crisis described earlier. China has begun to promote its judicial system more effectively. For example, the Asian attendees at the training sessions organized by China realized that they had learnt about Chinese Judicial system thoroughly. On returning to their home countries, they preached the same judicial values and their governments started using the same values and measures for their own judiciaries. This simple instance is a clear indication for the world to start taking China and its policies more seriously if they intend to ensure better future for their coming generations (Kurlantzick(b)). Additionally, central Asia is not the only region to embrace Chinese values and policies. Chinese model of development has gained increasing acceptance across Southeast Asia as well. Although, it has not been made official by the Asian and Southeast Asian countries but it can be certainly observed that the implementation of Chinese model has already occurred at an unconscious level. People living in Southeast Asia have almost abandoned the concept of free markets and are slowly shifting towards the idea of semi-free markets controlled partially by the government or the state. The fact that China has transformed from an almost poor country to the second greatest country of the world in a matter of few years is an obvious proof of its accomplished policies. As far as the current development and the distribution of global justice are concerned, China seems to be the most proficient nation in this regard. The world should consider Chinese policies for the greater good of the communities currently residing in it. Another fact that renders China’s policies more effective is it being the most populous nation of the world (Kurlantzick(b)). Despite China’s population of almost 1.3 billion, it has succeeded to grab the position of one of the greater nations of the world. Instead of making its large population an obstacle in its way to development, China has strategically used its population to build a major military power that possesses all kinds of advanced weapons and has the remarkable ability to use all ranges and delivery modes. The impressive handling of the population problem is another factor that contributes positively to the effectiveness of Chinese system of development. For instance, its GDP is at 13% of the total world output that is second to US. Moreover, the average tariffs have reduced from 41% to almost 6% in past few years. It urges the governing nations of the world to consider China’s role in the pursuit of global justice for a country that has succeeded to manage the vast amount of problems of its own people single-handedly, is sure to play a significant role in the quest as well as implementation of global justice if made part of the process of defining this particular term for the world as a whole (Dellios 1). According to Hedley Bull, "a great power belongs to a state that maintains a balance-of-power to prevent global dictatorship emerging through imperial consequent". Similarly, the history of China reveals that it possessed the proper understanding of the power vested in it to bring out a balanced state system (Dellios 3). Moreover, China’s disapproval towards the American military intrusion in the post Cold-war Era clearly indicates that it is a vocal critic of negative use of superpower in the affairs of the world as a whole. America, on one hand, supports a unipolar structure of the state system, while China on the other hand promotes multipolarity as compared to the unipolar system of the United Staes of America (Dellios 3). Furthermore, China provides a better alternative to the US capitalist model of society as indicated by its success and survival especially in the global economic crisis of 2008 and 2009. According to PPP calculations, the consideration of China’s dimensions including its large population and huge military establishment puts forth its probability of becoming the largest and the greatest nation of the world by 2025. The history has always portrayed the proposition of a positive part of China in the pursuit of global justice, conceivable. Hence, it is pertinent to say that the rise of China as a dominant nation promises a bright future with respect to global justice and the world should certainly pay heed to China’s policies and models in order to be a part of the positive change that seems inevitable at the moment given the rapid progress China is undergoing lately. (Dellios 7). The rise of China is the result of the rise of hegemonic powers during the cold war era. The Chinese observed that with the rise of hegemonic powers, they would experience severe constraints regarding the implementation of their own model of development. The dominant nations of the world would tend to impose their orders on the rest of the world by taking everything including the concept of global justice in their hands. These horrible implications urged the Chinese to strengthen their own security in order to achieve a secure and leading role in world’s politics. The concept of one-party system in China confirms its legitimacy based on its success in the world in general and China in particular unlike the United States of America and other western countries. This concept has played a fundamental role in the rise of China as a global power. Moreover, China’s strategies for the pursuit of peaceful regional and global environment are commendable and should definitely be considered for their eventual implementation throughout the world. However, it cannot be denied that China’s view of the global order is mainly related to the US policies regarding global justice. These two prominent policy perspectives, most of the times, contradict each other. Therefore, in order to ensure the positive pursuit of global justice, China’s policies should be given a fundamental place but, at the same time, it is wise to resolve the differences between the United States of America and China first (Foot 84). China is expected to replace America as the greatest nation of the world but it is not likely to happen in at least next two decades. In the meantime, China’s main objective is to achieve the benefits of multilateral system in order to exhibit its advantages to the world. The attainment of these benefits is crucial to the anticipated role of China for the pursuit of global justice. Moreover, China should first give its citizens the right to decide if they want to be the leading nation of the world mainly because China will certainly not be able to play a constructive role in the pursuit and the implementation of global justice without the consent of Chinese. However, it is not clear yet whether Chinese leaders have an effective plan to achieve their intended goals or not. For instance, China seems to have decided not to go against America openly as happened in the case of conflict over Taiwan. As far as the implications on global level are concerned, they too lack lucidity and consistency. In the meanwhile, instead of keep looking up to China for better policies than the United States of America, the rest of the world should try to map out their own policies concerning global justice. It is natural for the difference of opinion to occur between powerful nations and it seems wise for the nations of the world to resolve these differences while China works out its plans and policies for a better future (Foot 93). It has been established in the previous paragraphs that the developmental rise of China has huge implications for how the world is regulated. Due to the enormous size of the country and its population, the activities performed by China have spill-over effects on the rest of the world even if it doesn’t intend to. It has also been made certain by aforementioned facts and statistics that China, indeed, plays an encouraging role in the pursuit of global justice. However, the concept of global governance concerning China is still a vague concept in itself that seriously needs to be addressed. Moreover, the rise of China as a major trading power has reshaped the rules and regulations for the world trade. Due to the massive production of goods at relatively cheaper rates has changed the whole concept of prices and accessibility altogether. Apart from these spill-over effects of China’s activities and policies on the rest of the world, the economic development has evidently affected the world including the United States of America in relation to China’s stance on human rights as well as climate change. (Wang & Rosenau 7). China was a member of only 21 organizations until 1977. In 1996, the number of the international organizations rose to 51. As far as the transnational organizations are concerned, their number increased from 71 to 1079 during the same interval of time. These facts provide authentication for the positive role China is expected to play in the pursuit of fair global justice. China has always kept a low profile in these transnational and international organizations. However, lately, Chinese leaders have started to express their opinions on the important matters regarding world security, justice and global governance rather confidently. This confidence is the result of their unmatched achievements in a very short period of time. According to recent reports of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China has successfully managed to be a part of 298 international organizations and 2659 transnational organizations. The recent confident appearances of the Chinese leaders in these international organizations have two reasons behind them. Firstly, China was a poor and frail nation until a few years back which explains the less contribution of Chinese leaders to the debates on controversial topics mostly related to global governance and justice. Secondly, despite the high level of development, China is relatively a new comer in the field of global problems and lacks knowledge of the present rules of international regimes. However, with its increased participation in global debates, China is bound to bring a positive change in the context of global justice (Wang & Rosenau 22). The two most important features of the present day international politics are the rise of China and an increased concern regarding global justice. Nevertheless, the intricate relationship between the two is seldom explored. China’s ominous presence in the international world has been affecting the cross border activism for the past twenty years. In order to throw light on these aspects, Ian Holliday, Dean of Social Sciences and professor of Political Science at University of Hong Kong, spoke at a seminar organized by Kings College London. The lecture addressed the development of China in relation to its effects on global justice. According to Holliday western countries are reaching out towards China lately. China has succeeded in asserting its significance as an encouraging activist in the pursuit of global justice. For the past few years, Chinese leadership has met immense success in managing and establishing internal nationalism as well as the equality and justice. As far as the global justice is concerned, the responsibility to protect is basically a skeleton of rules and norms created by a large number of members of the international community in order to protect them from the abuses of sovereignty and the last option in such cases is military action. For example, the recent military intervention in Libya is legitimized by the Security Council which is in accordance with the framework mentioned above (Holliday 2, 4). Holliday argues that as far as justice is concerned, China is closer to communitarianism. On the other hand, America or west has a cosmopolitan view of justice. China’s concept is different from West’s common interpretation of justice. China is more focused on the boundaries of justice, showing reverence towards the versatility and variation of different cultures. Nonetheless, China and America are connected through the common yearning for economic growth in the world. Professor Ian Holliday suggests blending these two perspectives in order to reach at an effective conclusion. At the same time, Holliday objects that China places economic issues before the political ones thereby, neglecting the basic human rights. China seems unwilling to tie other countries with their own economy. This may happen in the near future only of China faces a threat to their own economy. Chinese model of development is meticulously monitored by the authorities and the Chinese population itself. Their commitment and devotion can be interpreted positively for the pursuit of global justice. However, the possibility of China becoming a threat for its neighboring countries and other western countries need to be addressed as well in order to chalk out the best possible strategy against or in favor of China which can only be done after the careful evaluation of China’s policies regarding global problems faced by the world as a whole. However, whatever happens in between, China is certainly a rising power that promises a better future for the world as a whole (Holliday 6,7). There have been speculations regarding the Chinese economic slowdown for the past few months. International markets are right, most of the times, about the economic deceleration of a particular country; however, they are proven wrong in the case of China. The increased focus on the export-driven growth has helped China to blend with the foreign consumer markets, making it the second largest economy of the world. China’s economy may slow down a bit but is its ultimate collapse is highly unlikely in the future. The overall economy and the employment rate in China is relatively stronger than any other economy on the surface of Earth. Even with few economic irregularities, Chinese economy is expected to grow around 7.5% in the year 2013. In fact, China’s predicted growth is way higher than any normal developing country in the world. For instance, Brazil and India have been envisaged to grow at less than five percent in the year 2013. Thus, the rise of China as a global power is highly probable and it seems to hold a better future for the rest of the world in terms of better economic conditions and improved situation of global justice (Kurlantzick(a)). In short, it is pertinent to say that as far as dealing with the rise of China is concerned, people of the world must think from their own perspective. The traits of dedication and loyalty attributed to Chinese, regardless of their intentions and objectives, are the major cause of their ever increasing dominance in the world. It has set a close to perfect model for the rest of nations to follow. China’s policies are no doubt better than most of the dominant nations of the world, however, it is essential for the rest of the world to develop their own political outlook and define the concept of justice for themselves. The world is expected to act mature and grasp the true intensity of the idea of global justice. The future of this planet now depends on the actions of human beings as a whole. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to continue fighting for the attainment of global justice by using China’s better model of development. Works Cited Dellios, Rosita. "The Rise of China as a Global Power." Culture Mandala: The Bulletin of the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies 6.2 (2005): 1-10. 2 Jan. 2005. Web. 21 July 2013. . Foot, Rosemary. "Chinese Strategies in a US-hegemonic Global Order: Accommodating and Hedging." International Affairs 82.1 (2006): 77-94. Print. Holliday, Ian. "Rising China and Global Justice." HKU Summer Institute 2013 Asia as the Global Future. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 26 June 2013. Address. Jacques, Martin. “Why do we continue to ignore China's rise? Arrogance.” The Guardian. 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 July 2013. . Kurlantzick, Joshua (a). “China Falling? Not So Fast." BusinessWeek. Bloomberg, 28 June 2013. Web. 23 July 2013. . Kurlantzick, Joshua (b). “China’s Model of Development and the “Beijing Consensus”.” China U.S. Focus. 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 July 2013. < http://www.chinausfocus.com/finance-economy/chinas-model-of-development-and-the-beijing-consensus/ >. Wang, Hongying, and James N. Rosenau. "China and Global Governance." Asian Perspective 33.3 (2009): 5-39. Print. Read More