What would you like to know about China?

[killarney_sailor]

Serious question - I am starting work on a book about China, sort of a China 101.

I decided to do this after visiting the country and realizing how little I (and most people in the West) really know about it. I am going to look at basic geography (where is Zhejiang and why should I care?), history (ancient and recent), demographics (the looming worker shortage), economy (why you will be using Haier appliances in the years to come), government, food (what really is/is not Chinese food), language, military capabilities, and environmental and other issues the country faces.

What I would like to ask is what topics, specific or more general you think should be included?

BTW, this is not my first book so I understand the amount of work to be done.

[LandLocked66c]

Everything you mentioned sounds really interesting. I've heard that there will not be enough young to take care of their aging population, is this true?

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by LandLocked66c

Everything you mentioned sounds really interesting. I've heard that there will not be enough young to take care of their aging population, is this true?

Haven't heard that but if it's true, maybe there will be some migration TO China - that would become the new definition of paradigm shift!

[johnnyandjebus]

killarney

As you already mentioned;

Economy
I have read that the country needs approx 8 percent growth just to break even each year, can the country maintain this growth long term?

How much are the truly poor of China(2-300 million people) a threat/influence to the country and it's economic goals?

Military
Much talk as been made about the American influence on the world as it relates to military might, what are China's ambitions in this department? If they choose to become a strong player in this game, why? and what would be the impact of such a decision? Do they see America as an partner or a threat?

Cultural
I am under the impression(and I could be wrong) that the Chinese as a group, like many others, have a superiority complex as it relates to other peoples(races)
If true, why and what impact does this have on decisions on international diplomacy?

edit:
Tibet?
Why can't they let the people go? what is the threat that Tibet holds in the minds of the Chinese leaders?


John

[INMA]

Yachts visiting China.

Travel outside of the normal tourist destinations.

Cultural requirements when dealing face to face with Chinese.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by LandLocked66c

Everything you mentioned sounds really interesting. I've heard that there will not be enough young to take care of their aging population, is this true?

I can answer some of the questions that people asked and will do research on the rest if they seem of general interest.

There is a real concern about the growing number or older people. There is no countrywide system of social security or pensions (or healthcare for that matter) - strange in a country that still professes to be communist. Some employers have pension plans but they are not indexed and inflation in the country is high (not a surprise with an economy growing 8 to 10% a year.

Traditionally in China, the oldest son was responsible for looking after his parents. With the one-child policy, which started in 1979, you end up with the situation of a married couple being responsible for four parents and possibly the odd grandparent. This is just starting to happen now as the first one-children are just into their 40s and their parents are coming to retirement age.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

Haven't heard that but if it's true, maybe there will be some migration TO China - that would become the new definition of paradigm shift!

A small, but significant number of young Chinese people who are residents in Canada, Australia, US and similar countries are going to China after graduating from university because of the job prospects. Often these kids were born or at least spent most of their lives in the west. They do well because they have decent educations, speak English, and are often more creative than grads of Chinese universities.

On a related topic, we met many Chinese people in our travels between Florida and Australia. Some were investors or people involved in trade (in particular in Ecuador) and some were just ordinary immigrants looking for a better life. In poorer countries like Vanuatu and Peru they were folks who could not qualify (education, etc) to get into Canada or Australia. Strangest case were people in American Samoa who went through agents in China who told them they were going to the United States. Entry to American Samoa does not get you entry into the US proper.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by johnnyandjebus

killarney

As you already mentioned;

Economy
I have read that the country needs approx 8 percent growth just to break even each year, can the country maintain this growth long term?

How much are the truly poor of China(2-300 million people) a threat/influence to the country and it's economic goals?

Military
Much talk as been made about the American influence on the world as it relates to military might, what are China's ambitions in this department? If they choose to become a strong player in this game, why? and what would be the impact of such a decision? Do they see America as an partner or a threat?

Cultural
I am under the impression(and I could be wrong) that the Chinese as a group, like many others, have a superiority complex as it relates to other peoples(races)
If true, why and what impact does this have on decisions on international diplomacy?

edit:
Tibet?
Why can't they let the people go? what is the threat that Tibet holds in the minds of the Chinese leaders?


John

Economy - not sure what you mean by "break even". I think it is more than everyone is used to this hyper-growth and expects it. The government is doing a balancing act to try to keep inflation down but growth up which is always hard. I think that they might be able to keep growth high as they move into higher value manufacturing. I had the pleasure of meeting some manufacturers there and they all were giving up on manufacturing socks, toys and the like. Went to one company that was making biometric door locks. They started with a Swedish design for the software (licensed I think) and improved the software to increase security. I was even offered the Canadian territory for about $90,000. Once they start selling $200 door locks, Chinese cars and appliances worldwide they have a new area for growth.

The situation of the poor is an interesting one. There labour force will max out this year or next. After that there are fewer and fewer workers. Minimum wage (which seems to followed routinely) has gone up by 30% in the past two years because some of the migrant workers from the west of the country were going home to be farmers again because farm incomes were high. Income differential with the rich is huge and the government know that they have to be very careful in this area. They were shocked by the Arab Spring and worry about another Tienanmen-situation provoked by economics not vague notions of democracy as in 1989

Military This is an area that I need to a lot more work on. Data about the size and moderness of the military is fairly easily available but about the ambitions (other than getting Taiwan at some point) are not.

Cultural When we talk about the Chinese we are talking about many cultural groups but primarily about one group, the Han, who are by far the largest and have all of the power. I agree about feelings of superiority and I think that they are historical. The name 'China' if foreign. The traditional name for China is Zhongguo which means Middle Kingdom. This name dates back more than 2500 years so for more than two millenia they have thought of themselves as the center of the world - hence they must be superior. The idea of a relatively unimportant China that could be pushed around by western countries and Japan really only existed from the mid 1600s to the 1980s. Before, China was the Middle Kingdom. Today they feel they are just reestablishing the historic norm.

Tibet The Chinese view Tibet as just part of China that happened to slip away when China was too weak to anything about it. They have a similar view of Taiwan.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by INMA

Yachts visiting China.

Travel outside of the normal tourist destinations.

Cultural requirements when dealing face to face with Chinese.

Some more good questions.

Yachts visiting We were thinking about visiting China after Australia and SE Asia. It is possible but difficult and costly since you are treated as a ship and need to have shipping agents, pay for pilots, etc, etc. Outside Hong Kong facilities are limited but new marinas are being built every year. Still imagine the coast of North America from Florida to Nova Scotia with 8 marinas in total.

There is a pleasure yacht business in China but it is mainly power boats designed for the new entrepreneurs who have lots of money and want to show it off. Certainly in the years to come it will grow and cruising will become more interesting. One caveat though, the typhoon season can be all year although probabilities are highest at this time of year.

Travel away from tourist areas I have been told that you can go anywhere you want other than normal restricted areas like military reserves. We certainly went to a wide range of areas and were welcomed. Travel is very hard in China if you do not know the language. That stuff about everyone in China learning English is nonsense. Get away from touristy areas and international business settings and it is hard to find English speakers. Outside big cities like Beijing and Shanghai not many signs are in English.

Meeting Chinese I can do more research on this, but my experience was that people were very friendly and informal and had a genuine interest in foreigners.