International Relations Paper Rethinking Imperial Power in Global Times
Attributable to a growth rate of about ten percent in the recent years, China has attracted global consideration and become the object of deep assessment due to the manner in which it has realized a swift and striking ascension of the intercontinental group table of fiscal powers and its capacity to gain from international trade. Particularly, numerous observers are convinced that the sustained development of China will lead to an unrelenting shift of the monetary center of significance to the East due to continued fiscal crisis in the majority of highly developed western nations. Though it experiences numerous weaknesses and challenges, China remains a strong global power (Shambaugh 34). India is a nation that stands at a genuine crossway and whose size, account, and current inspirations are viewed by the rest of the world with awe and high regard. It is a nation where the resistance between the finest and nastiest of humanity is in top gear. Though its fiscal directors continually push forth for a suitably modern setting, its politics backs crucial players who are committed to fatal plans of maintaining old practices. The main obstacles to the position of India as a global power encompass joblessness, political fundamentalism, extreme poverty, and use of illegal weapons. This study discusses the weaknesses and strengths of India and China with respect to their status as global powers.
STRONG POINTS OF CHINA
The development of China from the beginning of the times of transformations in 1978 has definitely been exceptional with regard to its degree and even more with reference to its scale. In the 1970s, China held 1% of the global economy; currently, it accounts for over 7%, with development forecasts predicting that it will represent about 20% before 2030. The fiscal development of China to power allowed it to rise past Japan in 2010 and turn out to be the second monetary power with respect to the nominal gross domestic product. China is presently the chief export and industrialized power internationally, having overpowered the United States in 2010 from a quantitative perspective (except for productivity). For instance, it has the biggest market for automobiles with close to 20 million vehicles sold locally every year (Buzan and Cox 10-12).
The great progress in the economy of China has been mostly stimulated by a monetary strategy primarily promoted by heavy venture as well as a huge precedence being offered to exports (Kalam and Rajan 45). In this regard, in very few years China has developed to be the US and EU’s second biggest trade partner with its weight, particularly for the EU continually developing (in 2005, China accounted for 10% of imports and exports to the European Union and 14% in 2010). Over above this development, there is the significance of savings, a critical rise in banking institutions coupled with a tremendous increment in fiscal growth and restricted external debt: a policy that is akin to the one adopted by other emerging nations in Europe.
Perhaps amid the most notable facts of the successes of China in the course of the recent years, which will turn out to be clear with time, depends on the generation of crucial groupings with a global vision, accentuated by a policy of shifting upmarket technically and industrially with regard to the augment of ventures overseas. Across Europe, for instance, there has been a considerable buyout of the Volvo automobile company by Geely for about one billion dollars in 2010 (Khanna 78). Though these crucial ventures still have a tendency of being insignificant and China holds position 16 across the globe with respect to foreign direct investment stocks (which is about three percent that of the European Union), there is a general conviction that in the few years to come it will turn out to be amid the world’s major contributors with regard to FDI.
Domestic venture in novel expertise, especially in renewable energy, as well as services, underscores a resolve to fortify the scientific and inventive capacities of the economy of China (Flemes 1018-1019). This is markedly anchored in the cutting-edge expertise parks, for instance, Zhongguancun, which centers on research endeavors and the enhancement and generation of services that currently hosts almost 20000 state-of-the-art businesses encompassing some significant Chinese and foreign organizations (for instance, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Google). On this note, though the contribution by the tertiary segment to the GDP of China was about 45% in 2010, it is anticipated that the proportion will inverse quickly with the fraction in the tertiary quarter taking more than 50 percent by 2020 to a likely 60% by 2030, hence coming near the 75% average approximated by the World Bank for the highly-developed economies.
WEAK POINTS OF CHINA
Irrespective of the irrefutable victory, the nation remains a promising global power even though its fiscal progress faces exceptional challenges. The desire to create a completely developed society for its huge population experiences major drawbacks. Regardless of sustained development, China’s gross domestic product per capita is far less the ones of most developed nations. The challenges facing China are characteristic of the ones experienced by developing nations but with a different aspect of their level, political and social model, and the pace with which they have set forth (Fues and Messner 167-170). China will have to deal with numerous major concerns to effectively advance its economy and stabilize its structure with the purpose of ensuring a minimal level of growth to sustain social stability as it gets to the second stage of fiscal transition. With respect to a dawdling economy in 2010 instigated by a reduction in external requirements, the monetary precedence of Chinese authorities is suitably placed to maintain stable development, both in the interim and long-term.
One of the notable areas of interest in terms of weak points of China encompasses the problems of an economic structure that is extremely reliant on exports (Xuetong 27). Such a monetary strategy has definitely resulted in swift progressions in production levels but because it has been anchored in an overabundance of inputs, it has as well been accompanied by some wastage (relatively poor yields, elevated outlays due to pollution, and the inadequacies of a structure founded on the capacity to grow at a considerable pace but at times to the disadvantage of natural resources, sustenance, or safety). An apparent example is the recent challenges with regard to the safeguarding of the surroundings and the impediment of ecological risks associated with the Three Gorges Dam. Moreover, there is a problem in the commencement of the high-speed train in China.
Altogether and irrespective of the considerable reduction since 2007, the dependence of the economy of China on external demands is high with exports accounting for about 25% of the gross domestic product in 2012 (Vanaik 196-199). It is widely believed that the recent reduction in the development of China (9% in 2012 with average predictions reducing it to 8% in 2013) is mainly associated with a decline in the external trade thus resulting in massive challenges for small and medium enterprises in the export industry and at times to social pressure. The tremendous buildup of foreign reserves, currently approximated at over 3,000 billion US dollars, has also rendered the nation to high monetary losses regardless of a rising diversification of its ventures, notably in yen and euros.
The things that acted as a great source of strength for China in the course of the recent few years (precedence offered to ventures and exports) presently demands readjustment towards intensified local consumption (Hurrell and Sengupta 467-470). The path made by the Chinese government for stabilizing the economy is ongoing though domestic consumption remains low and just represents about 30% of the gross domestic product. As a contrast, the share is from 60-70% in the majority of developed nations. In this regard, China faces the risk of landing into the middle income snare, a situation where wage inequality restricts the rise of an extensive, wealthy middle class that is fundamental to the stimulation of local demand.
There is a persistence of geographical and social inequities in China (Hurrell and Sengupta 467-470). There is also a gap between the nation’s under-developed and developed areas irrespective of the advancement realized in the course of the past few years with respect to gross domestic product growth and improvement strategies carried out by the authorities in favor of the nation’s central and western regions. The level of immigrant employees from the rural regions of China is more than fifty million and their living conditions are terrible, particularly in terms of social security. Irrespective of the increasing cost of living, most of the urban towns in China have a shortage of labor force. Though progress has been made by the Chinese government to improve the residence permit system, population increase and social stability pose considerable problems for the country at large. In fact, hastening the betterment of a comprehensive social safety net (in addition to discouraging too much savings) is of high precedence.
In China, energy and supplies risks are high. To start with, the nation’s resources are significantly reducing (Hurrell and Sengupta 467-470). If the current rate of consumption persists, coal reserves in China might be depleted in the course of the next three decades. The state of affairs is the same for oil and natural gas, which makes the country to depend mainly on imports. There is fast depreciation of soil and water reserves in China with most of the rivers being contaminated thus creating the shortage for clean water.
STRENGTHS OF INDIA
Considering its monetary strengths, India has realized massive strides. Its development policy has assisted the nation to eradicate instances of drought and reduce the level of illiteracy. The country has as well created a diversified industrial base and a considerably huge and advanced monetary aspect (Hurrell and Sengupta 467-470). In the course of the past decade, industrial and manufacturing endeavors have grown tremendously; they currently represent about 30% and 20% of gross domestic product respectively. The software sector in India acts as one of the most vibrant across the globe and has witnessed a sustained rapid growth, rising by 50% each year in the course of the past three years.
In mid-1991, India shifted from a government-propelled development. The novel advance centered on the stabilization of the economy, transformation of the monetary sector, betterment of public establishments, ventures, tax rules, and trade regulations while offering the nonpublic segment a greater task in the improvement of India. The transformations as well as excellent monsoons assisted growth recovery and progressive increase, which positioned the country amid the best economies around the world. Contrary to the past episodes of economic development, the recent expansion has been propelled by private ventures (Yunling 838-840). Moreover, the nation has started drawing foreign venture. There has been a rising improvement in the generation of consumer products, for instance, vehicles, electronics, and computers to mention a few. Agricultural production, which signifies over 25% of the gross domestic product, is anticipated to keep rising.
WEAKNESSES OF INDIA
The improvement of the standards of living of the poor has for a long time been amid the most significant strategy and a highly pressing difficulty. Before 1960, almost 50% of the population of India was residing in poverty. From that time, the rate of poverty has been reducing; nevertheless, this has been happening slowly, and tremendous discrepancies persist. Presently, Indians have continued to have a high level of poverty with about 30% of the population being below the poverty line. Malnutrition also acts as a weakness of India with respect to its status as a global power (Khanna 78). Over 50% of children in India are underfed, which influences their psychological and physical development negatively. Irrespective of the country’s strengths, the women in India have continued to be considerably more malnourished when judged against men. Contrary to the majority of nations across the globe, more Indian females than males die prior to attaining 35 years of age.
Though decreasing, highly preventable illnesses, for instance, tuberculosis, malaria, and leprosy keeping causing more than half of the reported sicknesses and about one percent of deaths. Attributable to the sluggish speed of trade transformations, the export development of India has continued to deteriorate (Yunling 838-840). The development approaches that earlier underscored import replacement and government involvement, which over-stretched the public segment, have proved to be unsustainable. Protectionism segregated India from other parts of the globe, and the nation’s share of the global trade has decreased from two percent too lower than one percent. Such approaches have as well depressed exports, resulted in recurrent shortfalls of foreign exchange, and caused the stability of payments to be greatly susceptible to abrupt alterations in the world market. Attributable to the impediments of the economic development, the lessening of poverty in India has posed critical challenges.
CONCLUSION
Attributable to a level of development of about ten percent in the contemporary times, China has attracted global deliberation and become the object of profound evaluation due to the manner in which it has attained a speedy and salient ascension of the intercontinental list of fiscal powers and its ability to reap from international trade. Even though it experiences several challenges, China remains a powerful global power. India is a nation where the conflict between the most excellent and horrible of the human race is in progress. The major barriers to the place of India as a global power include joblessness and extreme poverty to mention a few. This study has clearly explained the weaknesses and strengths of China and India regarding their rank as global powers.
Works Cited
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