Throughout
the semester our group has explored China’s various exploits worldwide and
offered commentary on its methods for gaining resources. We have also discussed how
this influences the global economic power dynamic. We began our tour with
Africa where China was laying a new framework for developmental progress, then
to the Middle East examining Chinese interests in oil, next to South America
where China may be building a generous infrastructure or looking to increase
its own trade capabilities, next sojourning in Europe where China continues to
diversify its economy with luxury-good producing companies, then moving to
North America where China has picked up high-value real estate, and finally to Australia
where China has been purchasing billions of tons of iron. While on this
journey, we contemplated how Chinese economic pursuits look to challenge the
global status quo, specifically as Chinese funds have provided support to many
weak and now indebted economies.
Our
posts were made possible because each week our group met to share interesting stories
related to our topic as well as to determine which sector or locale to focus on
for our upcoming post. Then we designated a person to do more in-depth research
of the particular topic and type up the week’s post. That draft was then sent
to members of the group for editing and opinions. This system of working in a
group was useful because we could help each other stay up to date on our topic,
locate reliable sources, and offer additional analysis for the post.
Reflecting
back, this blog has helped me develop a much richer understanding of China’s economic
and political policies, particularly how they vary from those in the West. The
articles portrayed the Chinese as having an unapologetically different, and
perhaps more successful, way of doing things. Along with these topic related
findings, I have also learned a great deal about evaluating sources,
communicating within a group, and being dependable as well as dependent upon. I
feel lucky to have shared this project with the members that I did because we
were each able to bring a diverse perspective, and as we share different
interests, were able to approach our topic from different angles, be it
economically, politically, historically, or culturally.
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