In this essay, the political regimes of China and United States will be discussed. A political regime is an assembly of political structures that make up a government. This helps in regulating the management of the government and building of the society. The three ways how the government can choose to run the country are via, One-Party State, Liberal Democracy or Military Dictatorship.

China and United States have the world’s biggest economies and effective militaries with their ruling influencing politics globally. Even with a huge trade agreement and countless diplomatic meetings, the both countries are unable to sustain a façade of a civil relationship. Though, there is pressure from leaders of United States, China is not discouraged but instead continues to grow its economy. (Super-power showdown - US vs. China, 2012)

China follows a One-Party State political system. It is led by a highly controlling communist party. The Chinese Communist Party is fully committed in upholding endless domination in power and will not tolerate others who doubt its right to rule. Freedom of speech is strictly constrained. The Chinese Communist Party dictates both state and society in China. They have been ruling China for over six decades, ever since they gained power in 1949. There are no elections in China. All institutions, executive, judiciary and legislation are all communist as well. (Lawrence & Martin, 2012)

Benefits of being a socialist include: equal distribution of wealth, state controls use of resources, state enterprises employment of workers and there will be better coordination as state does centralised planning. Along with benefits, there are also disadvantages of following this system. Government and managers are inexperienced in economic development, this leads to inefficient production. Huge power rest on ruling party, the government will end up supporting their own group. Investments and innovation will decrease and people of other groups may be unmotivated to contribute to economic development. This may also cause corruption and bribery. (Curran & Acker, 2010)

China has emerged as one of the quickest expanding, major economic forces ever since they shifted from a centralized economy to a market economy in the late 1970s. There are almost 300 000 foreign companies that have business ventures in China (Li, 2008). Business learnt that in order to survive doing business in China, they had to recognize cultural differences and look for joint suitable ways to attain business results (Shenker & Nyaw, 1995).

Will the current political system in China be feasible in the long run? China’s outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao had suggested for a political reorganisation as well as adjustment in the leadership practices of the party and the state. He fears that if no improvements are done to the political structure, it is going to be a challenge for China to have any economic growth. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, 2012)

The United States is the most powerful country on earth: economically, politically and militarily. United States has the oldest continuous democracy in the world, ever since its establishment in 1789. They follow a Federal system where power is divided between central government and the States. The federal government is broken down into 3 institutions namely, Legislative, Judiciary and Executive. The stability of the country depends on these institutions. (Australian Politics, 2013)

United States adapts the Neo-Liberalism ideology. Strengths include the deregulation of the public sector, a free market economy and efficient distribution of resources. With limited government intervention, taxes are lower and thus businesses can acquire more resources. Entrepreneurship is also encouraged. Businesses help contribute to societal well-being as jobs will be provided, technology will be improved also there will be better quality of products and services. As for weaknesses, there will be monopolization in large businesses. Only the best companies will survive and they may choose to set high prices. This will lead to unequal distribution of wealth, the poor will get poorer. As there is no government intervention, certain groups of people may feel offended as they do not receive any assistance from the government, especially those living in poverty. With minimal regulations, economic problems may surface. Due to over speculation, businesses putting in too much money in speculation, an economic crisis may occur. (Ryan & Brown & Parker, 2002)

During the global recession that started in 2008, it came to light that the China, ruled by the Communist Party, was actually better at handling the crisis as compared to democratic United States. As Beijing’s stimulus expenditure was greater, it was much better at recovering after the slowdown. It also focused on future economic expansion. While United States attempts to slowly move forward, China’s economy boosts right ahead. In the past 3 decades, China has brought out half a billion of its population from poverty, swiftly producing the world’s biggest middle class to provide a market for long-term local consumer demand. United States now faces income discrimination with the number of Americans tumbling into poverty. In 2009, there was the highest number of Americans living in poverty reached a record high of 43 million. (Karon, 2011)

According to Historian Francis Fukuyama, former neoconservative genius, China was quick to adapt, made choices no matter how challenging and also executed them effectively during a long-term crisis, namely the global recession. America on the other hand, enjoys the satisfaction on having legal checks and balances. They follow a political culture where there are doubts with the centralized government. This guaranteed individual freedom and a vital private sector but now has become divided and ideologically stiff. Minimal effort is shown for handling long-term fiscal problems that United States faces. Although social equality in America may have an essential fairness that the Chinese Communist Party system lacks, it will not work out if the government is divided against itself and cannot rule. (Karon, 2011)

In summary, United States is a mature economy with very high competition. It is a fertile area to do business as it is a free market. Businesses can choose to do whatever they want to. However, in the future, there will not be any room for growth as economic development is stagnant.

As for China, there may not be enough laws to protect foreign businesses. The government itself may not be familiar with business development. However, China is on the road to economic development. Even though China is politically Marxist, economically, they aspire to become Capitalist. They are warming up to the idea of starting local and private businesses in China. I believe once business starts picking up well, there will be high chances of regulation. In the future, the government may want to intervene with business. There is a lot of room for economic growth for China in years to come. China will become a mixed economy with government being able to have minimal intervention.

From the discussion above, I would choose to do my business in China as there is no more room for economic growth in United States. Also as it will be a start up business, it is advisable not to go to United States as only the “big companies make it”. Also, in China, cost of living is much lower as compared to United States, therefore I can spend more on my resources and cut back on wages. Since I would like to venture into China, I have to understand the business culture there in order not to cause any conflicts. I also believe that the Chinese government will soon come up with policies to help both local and foreign businesses.

References Australian Politics. (2013). Overview of the U.S. Political System. Retrieved from http://australianpolitics.com/united-states-of-america/system-overview

Curran. G & Acker. E. V. (2010). Business and the Politics of Globalisation: After the Global Financial Crisis. Frenchs Forest, Pearson Australia

Karon. T. (2011, January 20) Why China Does Capitalism Better than the U.S. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2043235,00.html

Lawrence. S. V. & Martin. M. F. (2012, May 10). Understanding China's Political System. Congressional Research Service

Li, M. (2008). When in China? Communication World, 47 (6), 34-36.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. (2012, March 15). Premier Wen Jiabao Meets the Press. Retrieved from http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx/t914983.htm

Ryan. N & Brown. K & Parker. R. (2002) Government, Business and Society. Pearson Education Australia Shenkar, O. & M. K. Nyaw: 1995, 'Yin and Yang: The interplay of human resources in Chinese-Foreign ventures', In O. Shenkar (Ed.), Global Perspectives of Human Resources Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Super-power showdown - US vs. china (2012). . Chatham, United States, Chatham: Newstex. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1113265307?accountid=10499