Why is everything made in China? This is a question that one has most likely asked themselves on multiple occasions as an American citizen, as one can not go to any store without a majority of its items being made in China in today’s time. Even the countless news stories of the ever-growing Chinese economic and military power are inescapable. The Chinese also seem to be copying the United States in several areas despite their vast differences. China openly manipulates their currency value to relatively match the American Dollar and even violates US patents, stealing American product ideas and business practices. One must logically question what notable characteristics distinguish the United States among all other nations and that Americans hold dear will the Chinese target next? Will China one day replace the US? It would compel most to question whether it is possible for China to replicate and/or overtake the United States in some areas when considering the United States strong capitalist history and the tumultuous socialist history of China. For instance, maybe the most important and famous of American phenomena, the American Dream, comes to mind. The Chinese government has arguably acted tyrannically in its past, enforcing strict socialist policy that debatably could not support a system of recurring growth in aggregate personal wealth? However, on the other hand, China has fostered immense economic growth overall in recent history while maintaining a socialist government. With these persuasive factors in place, one must truly ask; can the American Dream be made in China? As it will be outlined and concluded below, the answer can be determined through careful consideration and ample research. One will ultimately uncover the truth that China will never be able to truly replicate the idea of the American Dream, and even if they are able to copy some aspects of this phenomenon, the ingredient of freedom will always be absent. Despite current growing trends of individual and overall economic prosperity in the People’s Republic of China, the true American Dream can not be made in China as the benefactors of this prosperity are greatly limited by social and economic barriers currently installed by the authoritative communist Chinese regime.
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In order to truly understand the current socio-economic situation in China and where it is headed, one must understand the history of China’s communist regime. Immediately following World War II, a massive civil war broke out in China between the Nationalist party and the Communist party. By 1949 the Communist Party had taken most of mainland China and the Peoples’ Republic of China was established under leader, Mao Zedong (Office of the Historian). Soon after, Mao launched The Great Leap Forward; an economic program devised to transform China from an agrarian society to a communist industrial power through a government takeover of the economy. These reforms were a massive failure, however, sparking events such as the Great Chinese Famine resulting in tens of millions of deaths (History.com Editors). Following the death of Mao Zedong, the Chinese government began to establish sweeping reforms from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. During this period of reform, the nation opened itself up to foreign investment, privatization, and other traditionally capitalist economic policies. From 1978 to 2013, China’s economy boomed at extraordinary rates, hovering around 10 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth per year. China went from a developing country in ruins due to failed communist economic policy to a world business powerhouse in a matter of 30 years simply by converting to a more capitalist-type economic model. One must realize through the history of this ancient nation that at the genesis of the socialist regime, there was no possible outcome in which said economy could support the nation’s massive population much less foster China’s own version of the American dream. It is only now, after multiple capitalist reforms, that society can even begin to discuss the possibility of a Chinese economy supporting massive individual rise to wealth. It is also fair to point out that despite tremendous growth over the past few decades, the Chinese economy has slowed to an extent since the early to mid- 2010’s as the Communist party has implemented more government control out of fear of losing a firm grip on their country and its economy. Kimberly Amadeo states in her article with The Balance, “China's growth rate has slowed since the double-digit rates before 2013. Its economy grew 7.8% in 2013, 7.3% in 2014, 6.9% in 2015, and 6.7% in 2016” (Amadeo). These statistics undoubtedly show the benefits of a capitalist system and make one question the socio-economic impact of these conflicting systems in the US and China.
After considering the stark differences between the semi-socialist system of China and the regulated capitalist system of the United States, one must next question the differences between American prosperity and Chinese prosperity. To properly analyze the prosperity and conditions of these nations, the general housing and living situations must first be understood. To start off, a higher percentage of Chinese citizens own homes than American citizens. Robert O. Weagley outlines this trend in his Forbes article stating, “We found that while 85% of Chinese households surveyed owned a home, only 11% carried a mortgage on that property. In the United States 69% were homeowners in 2007, with 70% of them carrying some debt on the property, in the form of a mortgage or a home-equity loan.” (Weagley). It is also fair to point out that the cost of housing in China is to the US as apartments in chinese top cities around ¥16000 (~$2300 USD) per month while apartments in US cities range from $1000 to several thousand dollars (Shepard)(Favilla). While these high prices for housing in urban centers would presumably curtail the opportunities for prosperity in both nations, one must consider the living conditions in China to see why the US remains better off. One example can be found in a Newsweek article from 2017 that found that over one million people in Beijing were living in cramped, windowless rooms under residential buildings for under $264 per month. A televised report from CCTV News in 2015 also covered this issue, explaining how these basement rooms housed around 16 people per room, and would never pass many of the housing standards in the US. The report also mentioned that cooking was outlawed in these rooms and access to clean air was very limited. Many of the residents in these rooms have migrated from China’s rural regions in order to find work at low paying jobs while several stories up in the same buildings, wealthier residents pay upwards of ¥4 8,000 (~$7,000USD) per month for luxury apartments (Ross)(CCTV News). Bottom line, from this evidence one can easily see how the cost of housing alone would suggest that China is capable of fostering the level of prosperity that is present in the United States. However, once digging deeper into the conditions in which the less fortunate Chinese population face, one can see that prosperity though rising from poverty is almost impossible in China as residential facilities such as the basement apartments in Beijing, while cheap, only hurt their residents with their inhumane conditions. One must also realize from the evidence above just how much the United States and China’s more well-off population spends monthly on housing. One could wonder; how does income play a role in the prosperity of these nations, and how do their economic policies impact income? One of the most important aspects of prosperity comes from a nation’s ability to foster growth in income. While it is clear that both nations currently stand out as the world’s number one and two economies by real gross domestic product (GDP), it is paramount for one to look deeper into how much of this wealth is held by the people and how is this wealth distributed among the people. Currently the United States sits at around $19.485 trillion as of 2017, while China trails at $12.238 trillion. This gap, however, is predicted to close in the coming years as China’s GDP growth triples the United States’ currently at 6.9% to 2.27%. Although this story completely changes when analyzing the nations’ GDP per capita. The United States massively overtakes China in this category with a $59,939 GDP per capita compared to China’s $8,612 (Worldometers). This statistic indicates that American citizens are far wealthier on average compared to Chinese citizens. One may think that this alone shows the United States’ edge over the Chinese in being able to foster individual growth, however GDP per capita fails to convey the exact distribution of this wealth only the average expenditures of consumers as well as other factors such as investment, net exports, and government spending. In order to truly determine if China’s income growth could bring about the prosperity necessary to support an “American Dream,” one must look deeper into actual income statistics. Chris Luo of the South China Morning Post writes in his article regarding statistical corruption in China that in 2011, it was found that the aggregate household income in China totaled to ¥6.2 trillion (~$894 billion USD) which only amounted to 12% of the nation’s GDP for that year. Meanwhile the American aggregate household income for that same year amounted to $12.95 trillion USD, around 83% of the GDP (Thomas). Although technically household income and GDP are not directly related, this finding indicates that China’s personal expenditures do not drive prosperity nearly as much as in the United States as aggregate consumer expenditures come from these aggregate household incomes. One can assume that because the aggregate household income in the United States makes up a much larger percentage of its GDP compared to China’s then this trend would be the same for total consumer expenditures in which do constitute part of a nation’s GDP. One can easily infer after analyzing this statistic that China’s massive GDP has much less to do with the consumer compared to the United States and has more to do with other factors such as government expenditures and investment. Next, the distribution of wealth must be analyzed in both nations as looking deeper into these statistics will uncover whether or not China’s current system only fosters growth in certain areas or classes. The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) of St. Louis released a report in 2018 in which stated, “The average was 21,586.95 yuan, and the median was 18,371.34 yuan, suggesting that income inequality is not as severe in China as it is in the world. Nonetheless, the average income was still significantly higher than the median” (Fed of St.Louis). This statistic begins to prove that there exists a problem of heavy income inequality in China, and this becomes more evident once one looks further into this issue. The Fed of St. Louis also issued a graph from 2015 showcasing the average income in each major Chinese city. This graph clearly indicates that there currently exists a problem of regional wealth inequality as these cities, especially Beijing and Shanghai, exhibit incredibly high average income rates compared to the nation’s rural regions. These eye opening graphics indisputably convey the fact that not only the Chinese have a growing problem of massive regional wealth inequality, but also the fact that the United States does not have this problem anywhere near to the extent that China does. American wealth in “Graphic 3” is shown to be much more spread out throughout the nation compared to China where the majority of wealth is held in the central eastern and south eastern coastal regions. Finally, it must be addressed the true extent to which the United States surpasses China in individual wealth. As “Graphic 4” clearly depicts, the American wealthy are wealthier than the Chinese wealthy. Out of the top 25 wealthiest people in the world, the United States is home to 16 of them while China only houses 3. Also the median household income in the US wildly outpaces that of China with the US sitting at $43,585 per year and China trailing way below at $6,180 per year (World Population Review). Overall after analyzing these many factors, one can easily conclude that the United States is currently far better off in terms of income compared to China. While China has recently sported national economic numbers that would threaten the US’s top position, there lies many problems underneath the surface of China’s economy that hinder them from gaining the ability to support a system that would allow massive individual monetary growth. It is thought provoking after comparing and contrasting the economies of these two nations that China’s success in recent years, while caused only somewhat by consumers and the private sector, must have been caused due in part by another source despite reforms moving towards a more capitalist economy. One must question if a large percentage of China’s GDP is still made up by government expenditures. One must then search to find how much influence the Chinese government still has on its economy and its people.
An important aspect of the American Dream that one must never overlook is that of economic and social freedom. This currently is, and will most likely continue to be, the biggest obstacle in the way of China acquiring an “American Dream” of its own. Modern day China is very unique in its living and working conditions. Very few, if any nations, showcase prosperity and advancement in countless futuristic cities, yet step back into the American Gilded Age in its factories and production centers. An article from War on Want explains this situation best by explaining how the issues of Chinese regional wealth inequality carry over into the problem of terrible working conditions. The article explains,
In total 85% of China’s poor live in rural areas and extreme poverty forces many of them to leave the countryside in search of employment in urban areas. Often referred to as the factory of the world, China’s industry-oriented economy relies on these migrant workers who make up the majority of the workforce. There are approximately 150 million internal migrant workers in China who, because of their status, do not receive any state benefits or protection. They have to endure poor working conditions such as excessive and forced overtime, denial of social security rights and failure to provide employment contracts, as well as severe health risks (War on Want).
The article goes on to talk about the various atrocities present in these working facilities. It is stated that “In 2009 alone, approximately one million workers were injured at work and about 20,000 suffered from diseases due to their occupation” (War on Want). This article perfectly outlines the terrible conditions present in Chinese factories, as these workers are forced to leave their homes in the countryside due to economic conditions where they are given very little pay, forced to live in cramped and inhumane housing due to affordability, and subjected to high possibilities of work-related injuries and disease contraction. What is even worse is that many western nations, the United States in particular, take advantage of the cheap labor in China. A recent report from CNBC outlined the scandal of terrible working conditions for employees in Disney, Hasbro, and Mattel factories in China where they were worked for an ungodly amount of hours and denied mandatory chemical safety training (Taylor). These outrageous conditions could never allow a nation to maintain a prosperous people and economy much less bring about a phenomenon even remotely close to the American Dream. With these situations in place, the Chinese working class will never be able to rise from their poverty in order to gain wealth and support their family. Instead, they are paid very little for their countless hours of work and put in dangerous workplaces that threaten their wellbeing everyday. What is even more difficult to fathom is this trend only begins to outline the challenges that the Chinese face when searching for prosperity.
The one issue that has remained completely intact since the inception of the Chinese communist state, is the extreme presence of government control over its people. China has miraculously been able to transform itself from a third-world country to one of the most seemingly modern modern nation-states on the planet in a matter of three decades. However, they still hold onto a major weakness that continues to keep their people from true freedom. The restrictions the Chinese government has put on its people are monstrous in many cases. Throughout the nation’s history under socialist regime, it has never been a stranger to demonstrations of authoritarianism. This characteristic was put on display for all the world to witness in 1989 with the Tiananmen Square Massacre in which thousands of student activists were murdered for demanding democratic reforms (History.com). The Chinese government has also issued restrictions through legislation such as the infamous “One-Child Policy” which restricted the Chinese peoples’ simple yet necessary right to raise a family. This paramount right held by most of the world’s population is limited in China only allowing couples to raise two children (as the law was expanded to two children in 2016). This is not to mention the fact that it is completely accepted and even encouraged for couples to abort unwanted children or put them up for adoption which has led to a large-majority male population (due to families’ wishes to have their family name carried on) and a decline in China’s overall population projected to begin in 2027 (Myers, Wu, & Fu). On top of this, the Chinese people have almost no say in their government , and their government continues to grow even more tyrannical through recent actions such as the recent amendment to the Chinese constitution in March of 2018 which eliminated term limits for the president, allowing for President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely (Roth). With this lack of freedom alone, China truly lacks the capability to support an “American Dream.” It is technically possible for one to rise from “rags to riches” under the Chinese Regime like in the US, however Chinese citizens do not have the privilege that Americnas have in being able to not only obtain wealth and prosperity, but freely use it and live their lives how they please. Once again, it must not be underestimated the importance of individual freedom to the American Dream. What is worse is that the atrocities caused by the Chinese government do not even begin to end here. Human rights abuses currently run rampant in Chinese society. One of the most prominent human rights abuses taking place in China currently is the persecution of minority peoples, as the government seeks to create a more homogenous society. The World Report 2019: Human Rights Watch outlines this issue perfectly as it states,
Authorities dramatically stepped up repression and systematic abuses against the 13 million Turkic Muslims, including Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs, in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. Authorities have carried out mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment of some of them in various detention facilities, and increasingly imposed pervasive controls on daily life. New regulations in Tibet now criminalize even traditional forms of social action, including community mediation by religious figures. (Roth)
The World Report: Human Rights Watch points out what several other entities, including the United Nations, have over the years, which is that the Chinese government wishes to destroy any and all diversity among ethnicity and belief. It has been proven that China has violated to an incredible extent the rights of its minorities through extreme surveillance and regulation on their everyday lives. On top of this, the government has sent off countless ethnic minorities, such as the Turkic Uyghurs, to “education” camps where they are tortured, brainwashed, and in many cases never heard from again. A compilation of interviews with those who have fled Xinjiang and education camp survivors found that,
In addition to singing propaganda songs and learning Mandarin Chinese [in education camps], which is not their native language, Turkic Muslims are forbidden from saying “As-Salaam-Alaikum,” [an Islamic greeting, meaning “peace be unto you”] and must say hello in Mandarin instead. If they resist, or officials deem they have failed their lessons, they are punished. They may be subjected to solitary confinement, not be allowed to eat for a certain period, or required to stand for 24-hour periods, among other punishments (Dholakia and Wang).
It is incredibly clear after analyzing both reports that China is an incredibly hostile environment for ethicnic minorities as officials work tirelessly to force assimilation into the Han Chinese culture by taking away remotely all of these peoples’ inalienable rights as humans. What is even worse is this abuse does not stop with minorities. Currently in Hong Kong, citizens of the special administrative territory fight everyday for their freedom from the tyrannical, socialist government of mainland China. The formerly British-controlled city was handed back to the Chinese in 1997 under the condition that the democratic government of Hong Kong be left intact under a policy of “one country, two systems.” However, the Chinese government has recently gone against the agreement by slowly enacting more control over the city. In june of 2019, the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill was introduced in the Hong Kong legislature which would allow the Chinese government to extradite, try, and imprison any Hong Kong fugitives back on the mainland where they would most likely be sent to camps, never to be heard from again. On July 1 of 2019, The Guardian issued a report on how approximately 50 Hong Kongers were injured through tear gas and other methods used by the Chinese police in a massive protest that involved the citizens of Hong Kong storming the parliament building in outrage over the proposed bill (Otte). The situation in Hong Kong perfectly paints a picture of the Chinese government’s unwillingness to allow any personal freedom in their country and their zero tolerance for opposition to their control. The Hong Kong protests prove how the Chinese government will do anything to keep control, even if it means hurting their own people. Unfortunately, this tyrannical government does not stop at minorities and rebels. The average Chinese citizen is stripped of their rights everyday as they are restricted from the global internet and television, limited on what they are allowed to say and do, and constantly monitored. No one is safe from tyranny and abuse under the Chinese regime. Without the basic freedoms of humanity in place, people can not even begin to think about rising to riches. Even if one is able to grow their income despite massive restrictions and regulations, they still will never have the freedom to utilize their wealth in the ways they truly desire to.
In the end, as the world marvels at China’s unprecedented growth in national economic and urban prosperity, the American Dream of the United States can not be made in China. In the present day, several issues of gargantuan impact lie hidden underneath the booming industrial centers and shimmering city lights of China’s socialistic-capitalism. Most are not provided with any piece of the Chinese economic prosperity as they are either persecuted for status or forced into eternal poverty. Even still, the few benefactors of this prosperity are greatly limited by social and economic barriers firmly installed by the tyrannical Chinese regime. The American Dream, as citizens of the United States know, represents the classic socio-economic Cinderella Story through the ever-famous freedom provided by the American democracy. Despite China’s best efforts to prove its economic and societal strength, they simply lack the necessary equal opportunity present in the United States that has allowed them to foster and uphold the great ole American Dream.