Beijing - "Class" is almost an illicit word in China. Even after the decades of economic expansion since the market reforms of 1979, Marxist ideals such as “class conflict” and outrage over a talked-about secret “ruling class” of former Communist Party Politburo members, even a class struggle of the “bourgeoise-like” lower middle class, still overshadow the progress made by the sapling that is the Chinese government. Despite the IMF cutting its global forecasts, China held a stronger-than-expected growth rate over the past year of 7.4%, albeit lower than the government’s target of 7.5%.
Beijing has been the centre of discussion for the past few days, as select IMF member states convened this weekend to briefly discuss their stance on China’s leap into the next economic cycle, building on the current open market system it has encouraged. Emphasis has been placed on building trade relations, facilitating entrepreneurship and small businesses, and the polarity between rural and urban opportunities. Suggestions have ranged from Turkey’s support of building a self-sufficient nation through agriculture to Norway’s comment on carrying out short term success through raising minimum wages; yet, two sides remain firmly divided with different ideals.
A consensus between IMF member states was reached today on China needing to choose one of the options offered. One option is to increase wages, deterring foreign investment because of the relatively higher costs to operate. The second option is to keep wages low and encourage low-end jobs, encouraging more foreign investment and driving the economy forward. Based on the last information retrieved from the IMF session, countries were still considerable distances apart from reaching a comprehensive solution. The representative of China in IMF has approached the situation with concerning skepticism, offering that entrepreneurship in rural areas was not enough to “encourage a generation of educated and self-sustaining [individuals].” In response, the International Labor Agency (ILO) has reportedly offered to promote entrepreneurship within China, stating its benefits for small businesses to give back to the Chinese economy.
China has been known in the past to lack any transparency with admitting government corruption and budget deficits, with a current threshold for bribes being set at $820 USD for individuals and $32,700 USD for legal entities. Factory labor conditions have also been continuously publicized in media outside of the country; workers’ rights advocates within and outside of the country reported in 2013 that workers labouring long hours to meet high quotas only earned between $209 to $418 USD per month.
There is no reason to be concerned with China’s recent economic slowdown. Even as the global economy reaches a temporary imbalance, with plunging oil prices creating problems between trading countries, China still remains fully emerged amid the economic standstill, achieving consistent growth within the last five years. Perhaps one of the ways to continue China’s surge upwards in the global community is not by liberalizing its economy, but by accepting the restraints it currently contains and understanding the advantages that its current structure poses. Beijing may be one of the few cities in the future to withhold such a massive flourishing economy.
Beijing has been the centre of discussion for the past few days, as select IMF member states convened this weekend to briefly discuss their stance on China’s leap into the next economic cycle, building on the current open market system it has encouraged. Emphasis has been placed on building trade relations, facilitating entrepreneurship and small businesses, and the polarity between rural and urban opportunities. Suggestions have ranged from Turkey’s support of building a self-sufficient nation through agriculture to Norway’s comment on carrying out short term success through raising minimum wages; yet, two sides remain firmly divided with different ideals.
A consensus between IMF member states was reached today on China needing to choose one of the options offered. One option is to increase wages, deterring foreign investment because of the relatively higher costs to operate. The second option is to keep wages low and encourage low-end jobs, encouraging more foreign investment and driving the economy forward. Based on the last information retrieved from the IMF session, countries were still considerable distances apart from reaching a comprehensive solution. The representative of China in IMF has approached the situation with concerning skepticism, offering that entrepreneurship in rural areas was not enough to “encourage a generation of educated and self-sustaining [individuals].” In response, the International Labor Agency (ILO) has reportedly offered to promote entrepreneurship within China, stating its benefits for small businesses to give back to the Chinese economy.
China has been known in the past to lack any transparency with admitting government corruption and budget deficits, with a current threshold for bribes being set at $820 USD for individuals and $32,700 USD for legal entities. Factory labor conditions have also been continuously publicized in media outside of the country; workers’ rights advocates within and outside of the country reported in 2013 that workers labouring long hours to meet high quotas only earned between $209 to $418 USD per month.
There is no reason to be concerned with China’s recent economic slowdown. Even as the global economy reaches a temporary imbalance, with plunging oil prices creating problems between trading countries, China still remains fully emerged amid the economic standstill, achieving consistent growth within the last five years. Perhaps one of the ways to continue China’s surge upwards in the global community is not by liberalizing its economy, but by accepting the restraints it currently contains and understanding the advantages that its current structure poses. Beijing may be one of the few cities in the future to withhold such a massive flourishing economy.