![]() In terms of foreign policy, this already set an important course for the “policy of reform and opening (gaige kaifang zhengce),” which was to help the “Middle Kingdom” to foster its reascent in the world economy.Īfter Mao’s death, a change in economic policy took place in 1978, when the policy of reform and opening was initiated under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. Externally, China was once again able to shape its relations with other countries in a self-determined manner. In the subsequent Mao Zedong era, phases of chaos and stagnation alternated internally with phases of political stability and economic recovery until 1976. Only the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 finally put an end to this semi-colonial state (Mao Zedong) and thus to the “century of humiliations” (Oskar Weggel). In their aftermath, western nations forced China to open up to foreign trade. It culminated in the so-called Opium Wars (60). However, home-grown problems such as rampant corruption, rapid population growth and opium consumption fueled by the West, led to the descent of the Chinese empire by the mid-19th century. “Over a period of just over two millennia – from ancient times to the mid-19th century – China had the world’s greatest economic power, largest contiguous economic area, highest per-capita income, and highest standard of living.” This was also evident in China’s historical ascent to a global economic power over hundreds of years until the 19 th century, which Justin Lin Yifu, former chief economist of the world bank, sums up as follows: The term “Middle Kingdom” (Zhongguo), nicely sums up the Chinese view of the world: China is the center the periphery, especially the Western “barbarians,” is politically, economically, and culturally subordinate. We therefore dig into this for a bit.Īscent, descent, reascent: the “Middle Kingdom’s” rollercoaster-like development: In this debate, the historical context and in particular the Chinese view of things still too often recede into the background, even though a basic understanding of them is important for a better assessment of China’s current and future development. These developments have brought back to the table the question of the “competition of systems”, which seemed to have been settled after the collapse of the former Soviet Union – which actually came! They also raised the question how China managed its impressive economic development without the accompanying political transformation expected at least by western observers. The Corona pandemic demonstrated this impressively. Western countries, on the other hand, stumbled from one economic and social crisis to the next and seem to have no satisfactory answers to pressing problems. Instead, however, the world’s most populous country experienced an almost meteoric rise to become the new global superpower. 20 years ago, things looked different: the country’s political system was even predicted to lead to “The coming collapse of China” (Gordon Chang). Of course, all of this can only happen in a nutshell – especially given the fact that China credits itself with at least 5000 years of history.Ĭlimate change, artificial intelligence, the Corona pandemic – it is impossible to imagine the world without China. We start this series with a brief overview of the political and economic background of China’s rise and even take a glimpse further back into history. The last part will be published shortly ahead of Germany’s general election and deal with the challenges and opportunities the new German government will face in its relations with China – a situation that will certainly be similar for other western countries, too. Following up on this important event, we will publish a five-part series on China’s future role(s) in the world economy.įrom a western perspective, this role will oscillate within the triad of partner, competitor, and rival, covered by part two to four of the series. ![]() On July 1, 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) celebrated its 100 th birthday. ![]() GED blogpost series on China’s role(s) in the world economy (Part 1)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |