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Why do they fret about China's rise?
By Ashis Chakrabarti (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-10 07:43
If you thought the world sees China differently following the spectacular success of the Olympic and the Paralympic Games, think again. True, for many who had only vague ideas about the country, that too ones colored by prejudiced reports, the Games were an eye-opener. Many, especially those who visited China during the event, honestly admitted the country isn't quite the kind of strange land they were made to believe it was. But perceptions, like old habits, die hard. You simply couldn't expect all the cynics and China-haters to undergo a collective change of heart just because the Middle Kingdom hosted the Games so successfully. So it wasn't exactly surprising the bogey of a "rising China" would continue to be raised by die-hard skeptics. But this one is truly exceptional. Wondering about Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's understanding of global affairs and abilities, a columnist of the New York Times recently listed the world's problems. Does she really understand, the writer asked, a world "populated by Al Qaeda terrorists, a rising China, epidemics of AIDS, poverty and fratricidal war in the developing world and the deep economic distress at home"? The supposed threat from the rise of China is next only to that posed by Osama bin Laden's men! Another writer went one step further. "China's rise", to him, is "arguably more important than Islamic extremism, Russian revanchism or nuclear proliferation". It's not simply a matter of vilifying a country. Such perceptions are quite different from the off-the-cuff jibes by a hate-filled anchorperson on a television program - like the one by Jack Cafferty on a CNN show some months back. The significant thing is that there is a body of influential opinion that is bent on projecting China's rise as a major threat to world order. And, the threat, according to it, is not just economic. Obviously, analysts and commentators who put China's rise in the same league as Al Qaeda, AIDS or nuclear proliferation have much more than economic competition in mind. But such comments and perceptions at least attest to the world's acceptance of the rise of China. You could always differ on what the country's rise means to the world. To the ordinary Chinese, however, the question is nowhere near as complicated as some Western analysts would make it. Last month, traveling in Yunnan province, I tried to get an idea of how the ordinary Chinese felt about the "rise" of their country. Of course, all I spoke to - through a translator - were proud about their country hosting the Games and winning the highest number of medals. But China a threat to the world? They didn't quite know what I was talking about. Yes, the country is "rising", but to the people in Kunming, Dali or other places there it was all about their standards of living rising. I drove some 800 km over two days and the people talked about how the new expressway or the highways have made it easier for them to take their farm products to markets, thereby enabling them to earn more money. Or, how the new roads are bringing more tourists and leading to the opening of more hotels, shops and sundry other economic avenues. And, they also talked about problems - of unemployment among college graduates, corruption by public officials or rising medical costs. The baby milk scandal hadn't broken yet. But, for all the patriotic fervor that the Games brought, ordinary Chinese don't understand this talk of a rising China threatening world order or world peace. In fact, most of the common people I had a chance to talk to thought China was still a backward country that would take many, many years to catch up with the West. To the Chinese people, the "rise" of their country can only be a good thing. They wonder why other countries should have a problem if China rises. To them, it only means rising from poverty and then rising into prosperity. I can't agree with them more. E-mail: ashis@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 10/10/2008 page8) |
