You are on page 1of 8

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012

American Made in China


The world and its vast collections of independent countries, nationalities, languages, and culture are the essence of life as we know it today. Everything, from the phone in your pocket to the manufacturing of the most intellectual pieces of technology, takes part in this global exchange of ideas. But as the current economy of the US is becoming more drawn into debt and instability, which other nation will arise? America has always been recognized for years as a leading global power of great influence to the rest of the world. With a strong military, historically successful economy, and a highly envied set of privileges and freedoms, the "American Dream" was cloud nine for the world. The dream may be drifting along further east across the Pacific Ocean. Many citizens and leading economists believe that the country of China is becoming a superpower, a nation of economic dominance in the world. The country is not only growing exponentially in population, but also the rising value of the Chinese Yuan currency are making people take a closer look at its rapidly booming economy. However, there are economists who feel that Chinas peak of strength has already passed along with the glory of the 2008 Olympics, or that China still has a long way to go. Taking a look around ourselves, from the computers we type with, to the cars we drive, Chinese made products are around us. The national debt owned by China is rising, and international exchange of goods at a steady level indicates a green light with many entrepreneurs and investors. With other countries in Europe crashing into debt and eyes no longer on Japan being the top country to negotiate business with as it was in the 80s, the point is clear. As young business majors have an open field to choose from, it appears that a closer look at China would be a path worth following. Already 20% of the worlds population lives within its borders, it just might be turning out to be the new economic capital of trade and business in the world. China will be

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012 the soundest country to associate and conduct business with due to its large manufacturing power, wise investments in green energy, and high energy consumption. Manufacturing power has never been stronger for a nation of such available resources, and many of the strongest companies are based in this land, making most of Chinas economy. China has been known historically for its large country and huge population. Holding a 20% slice of the world population, one in every five people in the world is a Chinese resident. Taking this as an advantage for cheap labor costs, companies like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Cisco systems, has looked at this population as a source for cheap labor and manufacturing costs. Industrial buildings that employ many Chinese workers coming from rural lands go and work for American businesses. A minimum wage much lower than that of the United States is a contributing factor to the exponential increase of manufacturing.

A well-known company is Foxconn, who specialize in the manufacturing of iPhones, iPods, iPads, Xbox 360s and other electronic goods enjoyed in the United States and throughout the world. They have factories based in Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, and Europe with 13 alone in China, more than

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012 any other country. With the global demand for these tech products, China boasts manufacturing at an all-time high. This manufacturing power was seen worldwide in 2010 when Chinas manufacturing value added up to be $1.96 trillion, compared to United States $1.86 trillion. Manufacturing will only continue to increase as more and more people become urbanized and draw closer to work in cities. With an exporting value of S1755.71 USD Million in October of 2012, just below America at S186996.0 USD Million in September of 2012, we can easily watch this number grow (Feddec, 1). This number is not only startling for American economists, but other countries as well. According to recent RT news coverage, China has passed the United States as the leading trading partner in the world in 5 short years. 124 countries globally trade with China as compared to the 74 countries that say the same about the United States sparks attention (RT China Leaves Behind US). This shows that the rest of the world is already beginning to accept Chinas economic power and dominance on a global scale and can only increase from this point out. As the energy crisis continues to fold over and spark concern in nations worldwide, China seems to be on the right path to do something about it. According to DailyFinance, China has been investing in the research and production of renewable energy. With its programs like Top 1000 Enterprises program, it is influencing companies to lower their energy consumption and make their businesses run through a greener route. It is also noted that China has initiated in the 10 key Projects that will fund the building of hydroelectric and renewable fuel sources (Williams, 1). According to the New York Times, the city of Chongqing has been a place of toxic clouds and pollution for several decades now. China plans to invest in changing the energy consumption habits have turned heads of environmentalists everywhere as it seems to become a global concern for the city of Chongqing (Liu, 1).

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012 However, things are changing in this area. Skies are looking cleaner as the residential apartments are popping up near major factories like Iron & Steel that no longer have the usual smog above them. According to recent Reuters global news, China pledges to invest $56 billion dollars in lowering pollution emissions in 115 cities by 5% in 2015 (Martina, 1). Along with this, the will to travel to China will only grow greater as it is slowly but surely growing cleaner. Headquarters for American companies will be willing to relocate to a visually beautiful city and not only will tourism increase, but rural residents will be more likely to move to what once was extremely polluted cities of more opportunity. This cleaner change might take shape a lot sooner than people may think. China has already succeeded in changing the attention of the world by surpassing the United States in manufacturing power and soon surpasses its exporting value too. With a communist government still controlling the civilians and businesses in China and other international environmentalist groups continue to breathe down Chinas neck, this environmental healing certainly has the potential for many green oriented businesses and technologies to grow. Promises to go green and cut waste can only be dreams come true for solar powered, wind, geothermal, and hydro powered companies. With such technological advances for China, it is no surprise that the economy will be assisted and fueled by the fuel and energy China consumes itself. Chinese reliance on oil is increasing along with its manufacturing plants and factories. According to the Wall Street Journal, China has surpassed the United States in energy consumption with a 20252 billion tons of oil equivalent, which is 4% more than United States 2.170 billion tons. This has led China to search and secure fossil fuel supports in places where the United States have left due to social pressures of other foreign nations. Based on the information held by the U.S Energy Information Administration, China will only continue to consume more energy than any country in the rest of the world. This fact is hard to imagine, since America has been the leader in energy consumption for decades. Such growth in the need for energy is a for sure

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012 sign that technological advances will be taking place in the next several years. According to Forbes news, China has made a deal with Canada to purchase Canadian oil producer Nexon Inc. This draws attention to many eyes in the fact that China is not afraid to consider large oil purchases as it has done in the past. World oil companies will continue to look into China as a prime customer in energy, both fossil fuels and renewable (Perkowski, 1). Despite Chinas economic and social advances in the past decade, some scholars argue that China becoming a superpower is still a long time away from reality. To be a superpower, a nation must also have a strong and stable military on a global scale. According to the Cornell University Chronicle, the United States boasts a supreme 1500 warheads compared to Chinas 400. With American military bases in over 20 countries overseas, the United States will still have the brute muscle power that China will take forever to have. Along with China being weak in terms of the military, it also lacks support a means of domestic fairness (Diec, 1).Being a communist country, the country does not have a completely reliable governing legal system that can come across its citizens equally. Chinas actual GDP is more of a collection of other foreign GDP. The Chinese economy is set up so that the country relies on others for its own growth, rendering its economic statistics falsely justified. Many Americans also feel free to believe that China is in fact a major owner of the National debt. This is not necessarily the case, as China only holds about 7 percent of the U.S treasuries. Most of the debt is owed by the United States itself, so all talk about China taking over the Unites States and the rest of the world is simply ridiculous. To those who look at the numbers, while Chinas GDP is higher on a national scale, the main contributing factor is the amount of people in China. It is not necessarily a blessing to have such a population. According to the Huffington post, only about 20% of the Chinese population has flush toilets (Zeller Jr, 1). The standard of living is considerably lower for the average Chinese family, and it is not physically possible for the population to enjoy a quality of life like Americans

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012 do. Not to mention the health care crisis China is going into. The working age class will be diminishing and less and less people will be able to care for the elderly. However, if we look back not even a half a century of American history, Americans lived in such a different society than today. Take example the work environment and the distinguished responsibilities of men and women of different races and religions. Before the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers were allowed to discriminate who they hired because of the color of their skin, gender, country of origin, or anything for that matter. China has been following suit of Americans economically. The wages there are slowly increasing, and work standards are starting to be elevated. At this rate, China could potentially be relieved of the current one child policy and other governmental restrictions it has placed on the country to pursue Chinas best interest in the long run, just as any other great country has done. The worldwide study of business and economy is never a steady topic, and many surprises are sure to spark here and there. China has risen a great distance from where it was a century ago, and perhaps it has had a bit more luck than others. With such vast lands, providing a home for one fifth of the worlds population, China has proved itself that another country is certainly capable and able to exceed our own economically. The world will forever demand for various products, whether it be phones, cars, or any new inventions that may await us in the near future. China will certainly have the manufacturing power to fulfill that supply and will most surely be looked upon as the main producer of these goods. As the globe enters deeper into the 21st century, scientists worldwide will continue to find ways to be more energy efficient and provide a cleaner environment for nations all around. China will definitely be a primary focus of such studies, along with many other technological creations that may arise from the country.

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012

Works Cited "China Leaves behind the US as World's Leading Trade Partner RT." China Leaves behind the US as World's Leading Trade Partner RT. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. "The End of Cheap China." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
Diec, Jacques. "Cornell Chronicle: Scholars Agree: China's Not a Superpower." Cornell Chronicle: Scholars Agree: China's Not a Superpower. Chronicle Online, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

Feddec, Anna. "China Exports." China Exports. Trading Economics, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. Feddec, Anna. "United States Exports." United States Exports. Trading Economics, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. Jr., Tom Zeller. "Rural Minorities Ponder The American Dream From The Bottom Rung Of The Economic Ladder." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. Liu, Coco. "Built in a Dirty Boom, China's Biggest City Tries to Go Green." Nytimes.com. ClimateWire, 16 Sept. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Martina, Michael. "China Pledges $56 Billion to Cut Air Pollution." Reuters. N.p., 05 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. Perkowski, Jack. "Canada Greenlights CNOOC's Purchase Of Nexen." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.

Jacob Ponce Purdue 12 December 2012

Williams, Sean. "10 Ways America Is Losing Its Superpower Status to China." DailyFinance.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. Xilai, Bo. "Superpower Denied? Why China s Rise May Have Already Peaked." The Diplomat. N.p., 09 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

You might also like