...China Fragile Superpower This page intentionally left blank Fragile Superpower Susan L. Shirk China 2007 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2007 by Susan L. Shirk Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shirk, Susan L. China: fragile superpower / by Susan L. Shirk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-530609-5 1. Nationalism—China. 2. China—Politics and government—2002– I. Title. JC311.S525 2007 320.951—dc22 2006027998 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For Sam, Lucy, and David Popkin This page intentionally left...
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...Livingstone, J. (2008). Foreign exchange. [PowerPoint]. Retrieved from https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/130055/viewContent/4741270/View China is a manufacturing superpower. Assume that you are CFO of an automobile manufacturer looking to build a US$ 800 million plant in China. You are discussing this project with your spouse, who is intelligent, but has no background in finance. 1. Your discussion should begin with a clear and logical step-by-step explanation of the theory behind the concept of "required return" on proposed capital investments. Explain how cost of equity, cost of debt, WACC, and allowances for various risk factors are involved in determining the "required return" on proposed international capital investments. Please write at least one paragraph for each step in the WACC process. The required rate of return is the minimum annual percentage earned by an investment that will encourage individuals or companies to invest into a project. My company, as potential investors in a foreign market, will use the required rate of return to decide whether or not the associated risk is worth the investment. Companies make capital investments to earn money. The required rate of return on proposed capital investments is the amount required by investors before they decide to commit money to an investment at a certain level of risk. If the expected return does not exceed the required return, then we would choose not to invest. The cost of equity, cost of debt...
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...technological developments ................. 4 A. On Asia ........................................................................................ 4 B. On the world now ........................................................................ 4 C. On the world in the future .......................................................... 5 IV. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 5 2 I. Synopsis Will China and India be the world’s next superpowers? Perhaps history has its answers. Mankind has always been in search of for greener pastures, and there has always been powerful of empires that have had control of a large region, as seen from the passing of the baton of supremacy from one empire to another, from the Greeks to the Chinese and subsequently to the Ottomans, Europeans and American. With the gradual liberalization of China and India, there has been an increasing openness to interact with other countries, resulting in a great diffusion of technology across countries. China and...
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...Growing China: Will China Share Superpower Status with United States? After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, United States has remained her superpower status and has established her hegemony all around the world. In the 21st century, everybody waits for a country to fill the gap that was left by the Soviet Union to compete with the United States. Now, China is the most potential country that can be a superpower competing with US. China has developed herself since she became a communist state, especially, it is the past 20 years that China has improved from a state once isolated form rest of the world, into a regional superpower as potentially a state having the capacity to change the future direction of world events. By 2020, China hopes to compete with United States, however, that is not so easy for US to share her superpower status with China and US does not want to engage in another Cold War. First of all, what is a superpower? We need to define superpower to understand that China will possess the status of what and whether she benefits from it. During the second half of the twentieth century the concept of superpower status has been unique and without precedent. This is due to the fact that in this period, a superpower by definition possesses nuclear capabilities. While the UK, a superpower in the nineteenth century, now possesses nuclear capabilities, it is lacking in other attributes. Today’s superpower possesses four attributes, which confer upon it this status...
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...To what extent are China and India a threat to the USA’s current position as the world’s only true superpower? A superpower refers to a nation which holds and exerts, power (economic, military, and political) and influence (culture, religion) over a county. Over time the “true” superpower has changed. The term first applied to Britain where the British Empire had power over one fifth of the world’s population in 1922 (britishempire.co.uk) creating a bipolar world, following World War II and the Suez Crisis in 1956, the United Kingdom's status as a superpower was greatly diminished and shifted over to the United States and the Soviet Union for the duration of the Cold War period. At the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, only the United States appeared to fulfill the criteria of being a world superpower leaving it as the only true superpower. However with the increase in emerging superpowers such as china and India could they be a threat to the US? Which will be answered in this essay. Over the last decade China’s economy has bloomed, with their GDP increasing by 7.7% (World Bank, 2013), suggests that they have the potential to take over the US in terms of trade. In addition to a shift in trade ideologies, moving from communism to capitalism, adopting trade liberalisation and freeing up their market access and the introduction to china’s private sector, china has changed major policies to welcome Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Export Processing...
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...Superpowers geography How is power exercised and maintained? Direct power in the most obvious way of exercising and maintaining power. Exercise of direct power • British imperialism – wholesale conquest of countries. Insurgency put down by force. • Military power – US navy has 12 aircraft carriers and 70 submarines. It is the most powerful military machine on Earth. It established a ring of bases to surround the USSR in the Cold War era, as part of its policy of containment. The Iraq war saw the USA effectively “go it alone.” • Some economic power is direct. The USA plays a major role in world trade, much of which is conducted in $. The US $ is the world’s reserve currency. • A key area of US international prestige since the 1960s has been the exploration of space. 1969 saw men on the moon. The USA aims to build a moon base by 2020 and visit Mars by 2037. Exercise of indirect power • Neo-colonialism (term coined by Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana) is a form of indirect control over developing counties, most of them former colonies. Has neo-colonialism prevented any real development progress in the 40 years since colonies gained their independence? Africa could lead us to say yes. India could lead us to say no. • Some people say the IGOs were set up by superpowers for superpowers. The IMF was set up in 1944. It has its headquarters in Washington. Counties wishing to have their debt relieved have to apply Western...
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...Influencing Superpower Status (15 Mark) A superpower is a state with a leading position with the ability to influence events on a worldwide scale. It refers to a nation with the means to project its power and influence anywhere in the world and to be a dominant global force. Superpowers are typically large countries in terms of population and physical extent and also have economic, cultural and military power which result in global political influence. Economic factors are important in order for a superpower to gain its status. By having a strong and wealthy economy superpowers are able to trade goods and services of a high value between countries, increasing economic influence. During the time of the cold war; 1945-1990, The USA became one of the world’s leading superpowers with a capitalist, free market economy. Throughout the cold war the USA saw an improvement in its economy, allowing them to have a huge degree of power. Still being the world’s leader for FDI at $180 billion and with its GDP being twice the size of China’s at $16trillion, the USA still maintains their huge economic status. Chinas power is also increasing due to economic factors, so much so that china are able to invest into other countries, such as Africa which in 2007 totalled $30 billion. China also owns 45% of oil fields in Nigeria which not only makes sure they are energy secure but also builds a stronger economy. I believe that economic factors have high importance in influencing superpower status as...
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...When I ask my grandparents about their life. They told me of their childhood in Nationalist China, their difficult teenage years during the Japanese occupation and War Lords era, and their adult life in Communist China. They lived through roughly 4 governments (depending on the source), 3 decades of civil war, 8 years of Japanese occupation, 30 years of Communist China and 30+ years of modern Communist China. You would think that my grandparents should be in their 120’s. Well no. Their almost 80 and their lives mirror the ups and downs China has experienced in the 20th century. Yet time after time either because of wise government decisions or the determination of its people, China manages to recuperate. Imperial China lasted for roughly 2000 years, its decline beginning in the 1800’s with the rebellions and the Opium Wars. And since then it has been civil war, foreign attacks, rebellions, fall of the Qing dynasty, foreign occupation, and more civil war. It wasn’t until the mid 1900’s with the victory of the Communists that China has finally rid itself of the physical fighting. However diplomatic wars between nations and the fights with natural disasters still dragged on. My father recalled from his youth a time when even though no one he knew starved to death, everyone was hungry. The crops had failed again that year due to the “4 pests” rats, flies, mosquitoes, and fleas, child and adult alike were told to kill them on sight. The shortages of food lasted for 3 years from 1959...
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...its diverse & fascinating history, arts, music, culture, spiritual & social models has become a matter of proud for all of us. Also it can become a superpower in future by working hard in many fields. We all know that India is a developing country, but still to become a developed one or to become a superpower, lot of work has to be done. First of all, our goal of superpower has to be unique and not just what other countries like USA did. We have to redefine what superpower actually means. A superpower is a developed, self-reliant and a truly independent nation. It is a country with a dominant position in international issues and has the ability to exert its influence and project power on a global scale. The term superpower first applied to the British Empire, the United States and the Soviet Union. Now india is also moving its steps towards it. India can become a superpower being like an elephant that neither eats other animals nor gets eaten by them. Similarly we should neither threaten nor defenceless. It is known that India is a country that occupies greater part of South Asia. If we talk about area, India ranks as the seventh largest country in the world. Though India is the world's biggest democracy and has a strong political system, yet to become a superpower it is a bit away. We should strive to be a superpower in technology, education and ideas just as we did from the start of human civilization. India is still known for discovering the Zero. If we talk...
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...The first measure of military spending shows USA leading with $711 billion in 2012 – approximately 43% of global military expenditure - $568 billion more than China. This measure is useful as it can show who has military superiority and therefore who has the ability to act as a global enforcer or peacekeeper. It can also be used to show which countries have the ability to use hard power to protect themselves and areas or other countries of interest. The level of military expenditure can also relate to the level of military technology a country possesses. For example, each country on the table are in possession of nuclear weaponry. Similarly, the USA, as the highest military spender, has 11 aircraft carriers compared to China who only has one. Overall, this is a good method of measuring superpower status. However, the data provided by this measure is distorted due to the exchange rate mechanism, it would be better if purchasing power parity was used instead. The measure of Olympic medals (2012) shows the USA at the top with a total of 104 medals, 46 of which were gold. This measure is beneficial, although arguably less so than the others, as it can show a countries ability to fund Olympic sport programmes whereby representative have access to some of the finest training and equipment in the world. It could potentially show the size of a population as it could be argued that the larger the population the more choice of representatives you are likely to have. Participation in...
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...Introduction China’s insatiable appetite for natural resources, oils deposits and other raw materials to power its economic engine questing her to emerge as the new superpower, has catalyzed her desire to engage Africa in her Foreign Policy. This has heightened the Chinese desire to geo- strategic reach into Africa as a going global strategy this has been the plan as far back in the 1978 eras of Mao Zedong. China’s objective in the new phase of assertiveness is to maintain strong economic ties in Africa, unlike the previous objective of building a coalition of sharing common goals with Africa as ‘Third World’. This geo-economic factor is influenced by the desire for resources to fuel its economic growth and gain energy security. China in strengthening her diplomatic and political ties sees Africa not just as ally to bid for influence and power, but as a source for natural resources . China has established Confucius Institutes (state-funded Chinese Cultural Centers) that have sprung up throughout Africa, teaching local people the culture and traditions. One wonders if China is positioning itself for taking over supremacy and advancing her Soft Policy in Africa. It is perhaps important to see our languages and cultures going out there too. The China- Africa Cooperation which was aimed at strengthening China’s diplomatic and political ties stared in post colonial Africa. The African plight of political freedom from their colonies, referred to as aggressors according to...
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...Based off of my knowledge in world history the US is more of an empire than a superpower. An empire is an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority formerly an emperor or empress. A superpower would act as if it were a very powerful and influential nation. Totalitarian government had three basic characteristics one of the rules was ruled by a single ruler with instructed power . The second used violence and also intimidated to maintain power. Finally, third people were not given political freedom. The US was behaving more like an empire by protecting world stability. One reason to support my thesis is America has relied on the military power to much. Political solutions to maintain its position as the worlds leading state. My reader should care about this topic it shows that in order to maintain stable care in America they've no longer are a superpower and is now titled as an empire....
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...Center survey released earlier this year found that in 23 of 39 countries surveyed, a majority of respondents said China is already, or will soon become, the “world’s leading superpower.” Connect With Us on Twitter For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT. Even in America, just 47 percent told Pew they believe the United States will remain in that role, and the survey was conducted before Washington’s recent shutdown hardened opinions about America’s political dysfunction. But although China’s economic influence is growing — it is now the lead trade partner for 124 countries, compared to just 76 for the United States — its power to influence other nations is slight. It has achieved little of what policymakers call “capture,” a condition in which economic or security dependence of one country on another allows the more powerful to drive the other’s policy making. Only in countries like North Korea, Cambodia and Laos does China have that kind of heft; in North Korea, for example, China provides 90 percent of the country’s energy and 80 percent of its consumer goods. But these are not the sorts of allies that help an emerging power extend its influence. Based on the size of their commercial relationships with China as a share of their overall economies, the governments next closest to “China capture” are Pakistan and Myanmar. But Beijing’s reluctance to undermine improving relations with India or to become...
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...terms of its economy, the USA is strongly threatened by China. China has the second highest GDP in the world behind the USA (6,807.43 USD in 2013) and this figure is growing at a much faster rate than the USA’s. China’s manufacturing industry is huge and exports many products all over the world. Although the average quality of life in China isn’t as good as the USA’s, it improving due to China’s growing economy allowing more investment in services like healthcare and education. A wealthier population in China may also lead to future political change and even more economic growth. Also, India’s economy is powerful and growing, although not on the scale of China. Overall, I think China will soon become more of a dominant nation compared to the USA. However, China’s GDP and quality of life won’t match the USA for a long time. The military strength of countries is important in making them superpowers. Although the USA has the strongest military force in the world, China also has very strong military strength and is most likely here to threaten the USA for global dominance out of the BRIC nations. The Chinese army has over 2,000,000 personnel members compared to the USA’s 1,000,000. This gives China a huge advantage in manpower. On the other hand, China’s military is behind technologically, having only built their first aircraft carrier in 2011, whereas the USA has had carriers for decades, even since WWII. Despite this however, China also has nuclear capabilities...
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...Cold War Wars The Cold War was the conflict between the two superpowers of the world, the democratic United States of America and the communist Soviet Union. For over fifty years the two superpowers fought each other for power and control of the world. The Cold War started after the end of the Second World War in 1945 when both superpowers were no longer looking at Nazi Germany, but instead at each other and the rest of the world. It rose due to antagonist values with the United States, demonstrating democracy and capitalism, and the Soviet Union, signifying communism and totalitarianism. Being the two principal world powers after WWII, controversy with the Americans and Soviets became a worldwide conflict. However, the Cold War ended up affecting practically every country in the world someway. Some countries were affected by having wars erupt within them. Some examples were Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. In each of these wars, many amounts of communists fought non-communists. In each case, both sides had help from other countries that were on their side. Either way, the countries were both badly impacted by the fighting. In other countries, the impacts were more positive. The US & the USSR would compete with one another to help countries that were not firmly aligned in one camp or the other. They would often give economic aid to countries to help persuade those countries to take their side. What this meant is that some countries benefited from the cold war in economic...
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