China: Underdog? Or just one of the rest?

             Chinese economic good fortunes have Western economies feeling “increasingly uncomfortable”, and indeed they are good fortunes. Their purchase late this May of the United States’ Smithfield Foods and the French Club Med asserts the Chinese as an economic force in both developing and developed countries. Araujo and Cardenal identify “the aggressive worldwide push of Chinese state capitalism” as threatening the West’s competitive edge, and perhaps more importantly, their jobs. This, however, is not the empowering story of the underdog claiming what is rightfully deserved like we have heard before. The authors not-so-subtly hint that the practices that have allowed the Chinese to grow this powerful; e.g. hidden subsidies, cheap financing, and exploiting resources, are not as honorable as once thought.

            In my opinion, this article is particularly interesting because many countries and organizations praised China earlier this year for bringing good development policies to the Third World, contrasting the exploitative practices enacted by predominantly Western developed countries. This article would paint the image that it is impossible to rival the powerful economies of today without “getting your hands dirty” in the process. Though I am positive China does not care that I find this extremely disheartening, there is something to be said about sustainability and human rights. Shoddy practices yield failing economies as I believe the current economic crisis can provide example of. The externalities involved in exploiting resources and cheap financing will have to be addressed; every economist knows there’s no such thing as a free lunch. My faith rests in policy makers who will stop ignoring the full consequence of these actions.

So there’s my two cents and then some. I hope you share your thoughts, opinions, and questions! Thanks for reading

Works Cited

Araujo, H., & Cardenal, J. P. (1 June 2013). China’s Economic Empire. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/chinas-economic-empire.html