If someone had told me a year ago that I would find myself in an Economics class in China , I would have laughed. Very loudly. In their face.
Today, I spent three hours today discussing the astronomical growth of China's average gross domestic product. FOR REAL!!! I've spent the past two years of my life memorizing monologues, wearing jazz shoes and talking about "feelings". Pretty soon, I'm gonna start wearing a pant suit and talking on a blue tooth. (I'm being facetious dad, don't get your hopes up).
Despite all odds though, I attended a lecture conducted by Sean Chen, an economics professor at a nearby university. He spent the majority of the class presenting statistics on China's natural resources, labor supply, capital, management and technology.
Here are some of Professor Chen's talking points:
1. Even though China is approximately the same size as America in terms of land mass, only 25% of the land is composed of planes. Most of China's territory is made up of mountains, deserts and basins.
2. America's population is 300 million while China's is a staggering 1.3 BILLION- one fifth of the world's population.
3. In 1978 as China's political climate shifted from Mao-era communism to a so-called "market economy with Chinese characteristics", 20% of China's population was in urban areas. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 45%!
4. China didn't really use cars until after 1978! And during this time, everything was purchased with government allotted coupons- things like furniture, food, matches, soap, rice, cloth to make clothes with etc.
5. Today, only 56% of people have the opportunity to go to college.
6. China is currently tied with Germany as the third largest economy in the world, tailing behind the U.S. and Japan.
7. McCain is the Chinese hopeful for the upcoming American election.
So there you have it. Sort of.
There is no question that in the past thirty years, China has made enormous, almost unfathomable leaps in its economy.
That said, there is still a lot to be done in terms of human rights issues, environmental issues, etc. It's also difficult to gauge the legitimacy of Professor Chen's statistics. China has no census and the government isn't exactly known for making this kind of information widely available. But that might be some red-scare-style paranoia talking. I'm completely aware that whenever I talk art or politics with someone in China, a communist alert begins to beep somewhere inside me. It's hard to know what's what when everyone's access to information is limited.
But with all skepticism aside, it's undeniable that China is getting more and more recognition on the international stage as a truly powerful country.
Today, I spent three hours today discussing the astronomical growth of China's average gross domestic product. FOR REAL!!! I've spent the past two years of my life memorizing monologues, wearing jazz shoes and talking about "feelings". Pretty soon, I'm gonna start wearing a pant suit and talking on a blue tooth. (I'm being facetious dad, don't get your hopes up).
Despite all odds though, I attended a lecture conducted by Sean Chen, an economics professor at a nearby university. He spent the majority of the class presenting statistics on China's natural resources, labor supply, capital, management and technology.
Here are some of Professor Chen's talking points:
1. Even though China is approximately the same size as America in terms of land mass, only 25% of the land is composed of planes. Most of China's territory is made up of mountains, deserts and basins.
2. America's population is 300 million while China's is a staggering 1.3 BILLION- one fifth of the world's population.
3. In 1978 as China's political climate shifted from Mao-era communism to a so-called "market economy with Chinese characteristics", 20% of China's population was in urban areas. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 45%!
4. China didn't really use cars until after 1978! And during this time, everything was purchased with government allotted coupons- things like furniture, food, matches, soap, rice, cloth to make clothes with etc.
5. Today, only 56% of people have the opportunity to go to college.
6. China is currently tied with Germany as the third largest economy in the world, tailing behind the U.S. and Japan.
7. McCain is the Chinese hopeful for the upcoming American election.
So there you have it. Sort of.
There is no question that in the past thirty years, China has made enormous, almost unfathomable leaps in its economy.
That said, there is still a lot to be done in terms of human rights issues, environmental issues, etc. It's also difficult to gauge the legitimacy of Professor Chen's statistics. China has no census and the government isn't exactly known for making this kind of information widely available. But that might be some red-scare-style paranoia talking. I'm completely aware that whenever I talk art or politics with someone in China, a communist alert begins to beep somewhere inside me. It's hard to know what's what when everyone's access to information is limited.
But with all skepticism aside, it's undeniable that China is getting more and more recognition on the international stage as a truly powerful country.
No comments:
Post a Comment