Why Is China Failing?
Why is China Failing?
China is becoming a great economic superpower because of its large economic growth rate. The past two decades, China 's economy has grown at an average annual rate of more than 9% (Fishman, 2005, pg. 117). But the economic cost of environmental harm, growing inflation, and a slowing economic growth rate, China economy may not obtain the highest economic rank on the world stage. China was on the right track to becoming the next economic superpower but I think that pollution, inflation, and the income disparities between the urban and rural people are disrupting its economic growth and brought China into a depression.
The first claim is that China 's large economic growth is failing is because of pollution. The economic cost of environmental harm, measured in public health, worker absenteeism and remediation efforts, is becoming prohibitively high. Decades of pollution from hundreds of factories have allowed industrial poisons to leach into groundwater, contaminating drinking supplies and leading to a rash of cancers. China 's huge population and grand economic ambitions make it the most important environmental actor in the world today, with the single exception of the United States. Like the United States, China could all but single-handedly make climate change, ozone depletion, and a host of other hazards a reality for people all over the world. According to many Chinese environmentalists, "If economic growth stops, people will go back to the old, dirty, cheaper methods of production. Worse, there will be political instability, and that will overshadow everything; in that case no one will have time to worry about the environment. Of course, this rapid economic growth will cause additional environmental damage; some things in the environment are irreversible. That 's why I think China will have to lose something -- some species, some wetlands, something. We are working very hard to strengthen our environment. But, much as I regret it,
China is becoming a great economic superpower because of its large economic growth rate. The past two decades, China 's economy has grown at an average annual rate of more than 9% (Fishman, 2005, pg. 117). But the economic cost of environmental harm, growing inflation, and a slowing economic growth rate, China economy may not obtain the highest economic rank on the world stage. China was on the right track to becoming the next economic superpower but I think that pollution, inflation, and the income disparities between the urban and rural people are disrupting its economic growth and brought China into a depression.
The first claim is that China 's large economic growth is failing is because of pollution. The economic cost of environmental harm, measured in public health, worker absenteeism and remediation efforts, is becoming prohibitively high. Decades of pollution from hundreds of factories have allowed industrial poisons to leach into groundwater, contaminating drinking supplies and leading to a rash of cancers. China 's huge population and grand economic ambitions make it the most important environmental actor in the world today, with the single exception of the United States. Like the United States, China could all but single-handedly make climate change, ozone depletion, and a host of other hazards a reality for people all over the world. According to many Chinese environmentalists, "If economic growth stops, people will go back to the old, dirty, cheaper methods of production. Worse, there will be political instability, and that will overshadow everything; in that case no one will have time to worry about the environment. Of course, this rapid economic growth will cause additional environmental damage; some things in the environment are irreversible. That 's why I think China will have to lose something -- some species, some wetlands, something. We are working very hard to strengthen our environment. But, much as I regret it,
Cited: Fishman, Ted C. 2005. China, Inc.: How The Rise of The Next Superpower Challenges America and The World. New York, N.Y. Simon and Schuster. Hertsgaard, Mark . 1997. "Our Real China Problem." The Atlantic Online. http://www.theatlantic. com/issues/97nov/china.htm (November, 1997). Shenkar, Oded. 2005. The Chinese Century: The Rising Chinese Economy and its Impact on the Global Economy, The Balance of Power, and Your Job. Wharton School Publishing. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Winters, L. Alan, and Shahid Yusuf. 2007. Dancing with The Giants. Washington D.C.: World Bank.