Raymond Gonzalez

US and Post-Cold War Asia

Professor Chadda

11/05/2014

Midterm Essay

After careful review of both videos, I realized that writing this essay is much easier than I

initially expected, because as you said, all these questions may look different at a first glance but

when you look much closer, you see that they are very much interconnected and they all work

back to a main concern that I have and that has been asked by many people in class and other

articles and media we have reviewed about China. That Question is: Can China Rise Peacefully?

I don’t normally like to generalize this question in answering others but when you really examine

that question it ties into everything and really gives you a greater perspective into how the future

for China is going to very interesting and how they are shaping themselves as well as how the

rest of the world is shaping them.

In the video Making of a modern Nation: China the two keynote speakers are John

Delury and Orville Schell. In watching this video, both touch on many different topics as well as

ideas but the ideas that China needs to reach their goal of becoming a modern nation were very

clear. The first idea was the fact of the Chinese government is full of corruption and the people

know it. The lack of information they receive from censorship as well the silence that is imposed

upon then is crippling to their growth. No country that has a goal of becoming a modern

superpower can treat their people the way they do. A big goal for China is their political system

gaining legitimacy from the people. The longer that they let this go on, the longer that this will

simmer underneath their noses until it finally hits its boiling point. The Chinese can go on much

longer. As we have already seen, there have been massive protests for a legitimate political party

and basic human rights. This shouldn’t be too much to ask but the problem lies with there being

a large amount of shady dealings, as well as unregulated labor so with political reform there

comes drastic change in terms of human rights and more problems unfolding into new ones.

Another idea here that needs to be addresses is the fact that many political leaders as well

as countrymen have this overwhelming feeling of being humiliated as well as being shamed over

the course of the last 4 centuries. China’s problem is that it feels that it has been unfairly treated

in terms of getting the short end of the stick of being invaded, occupied and was subjected to

unequal treaties as well as western and Japanese imperialism. The big picture here is that if

China wants to move forward then it has to let go of the past. It needs to stop playing the victim

because in playing the victim they make poor decisions with their foreign policy and they make

poor choices when it comes to shaping their allies and partners. As stated in the video, China is

already a key player in many great economic partnerships all over the world. China has not

become the regional hegemony that it wants, but China is already the dominant power in Asia if

not the number one dominant power. The Chinese propaganda is full of hot air most of the time

but in most cases this has worked for the political party in China. They have driven this idea of

being beaten and battered and the theory of “rejuvenation” has driven most of the gains that

China has achieved. The fact remains is that if they are waiting for an apology or waiting for

something to come their way in terms of reparations, it’s not going to happen. It’s hard for some

Chinese scholars as well as political minds, even the most liberal to get over being the victim but

the sooner it focuses more on how were going to spend our money and develop from how are we

going to get back at those who did us wrong is when you’re going to see some truly exponential

growth in terms of economic, political and societal.

China on the rise will keep its essential and dynamic “Chineseness” in an age where they

make it seem like no one wants them to rise and the fact that China can be both a nation of

society and a state that can edge the west out of its throne and start the era of true diversity in

terms of its traditions and distribution of power throughout the world. When looking at a single

narrative of China, it is hard to place your finger on which one is the one that they all choose to

go by. One of the biggest narratives that it likes to give itself is the one of the victim which was

spoken about above but another one is one in which the CCP keeps reinventing itself to stay

modern while keeping its values as a totalitarian regime intact. The narrative here likes to discuss

it becoming a truly mind blowing economic power as well as a society that adapts in terms of

modern social problems.

"Contrary to almost universal western expectations after Tiananmen Square in 1989, the

Communist party not only survived but reinvented itself and, over the last 30 years, has presided

over the most remarkable economic transformation in human history".

This assumption of China is very, very old but the fact of China trying to reestablish itself is very

controversial in its own. During China’s history the main problem lies with China being great

and then collapsing and then having to revive itself again. Their history is one of the oldest in the

world but with every transformation they had made, the path has been tumultuous and sometimes

extremely drastic. And with having a tumultuous and drastic chances comes sometimes violence

as well as political unrest. It’s not the leaders and the elite that pay this price but the people. The

countrymen pay this sometimes hefty price. These hefty prices are often paid with problems in

domestic policy but more so foreign policy. The landscape of their foreign policy is what truly

needs to change because international relations are key. They keep contradicting themselves by

pushing potential allies away and make it all about themselves instead of reaching out and

strengthening their ability to hang out with the other key players of the world.

China's most current situation is that many Chinese people have a belief of nationalism

and feel that their main priority should be a goal of developing various ventures at home and

tweaking things before anything else. The main problem with that lies the fact that the CCP

doesn’t allow this and they are running in circles. There is nothing wrong with their traditional

beliefs and values but what really drives them into somewhere where they don’t want to be is

there state of political matters. China's achievements over the past 30 years are a major source of

Chinese patriotism today and rightfully so, they have accomplished a lot there is no denying this

fact. The success of their "socialism with Chinese characteristics" has given the Chinese people a

massive boost in confidence after the complete failure that was the “Cultural Revolution”, and

they like to make it known that they too can have great success too just like the west has

achieved so much in terms of social problems. The Chinese confidence is becoming a star that is

trying to outshine the west on every plateau especially in terms of financial capability and how

much the west relies on China to keep it stable. With this ego growing rapidly, you can see

drastic changes in China’s foreign policy. Even though it is clear that China still has much work

to do domestically, they are on the train to join the west at the “Players Club” where they have

wanted a membership so badly.

With the two narratives that were previously spoken about, in terms of domestic policy

we have started to see a trend in how China handles itself domestically. We have seen the

relationships that it has acquired and we have also seen what has come of it. The days of China

being bullied are over. China has had a mindset in which now that it has the economic and

military power, it can finally take back what China believes is truly its own. A big example of

this is the territory disputes that have been surfacing recently. These disputes include the Paracel

Islands, the Spratly Islands as well as some minor underlying islands in the South China Sea.

Their foreign policy has changes from being on the defense to going on the offensive and gaining

every bit of control it can possible grab. This had led to many problems with countries south of

it, but has given other countries such as both North and South Korea, Japan and India something

to think about and to re-evaluate when they are thinking about how China would feel.

The relationship that China has with North Korea is one that China has to tip toe very

carefully around the rest of the world. Although, I don’t truly understand the necessity of the

relationship anymore, the fact remains is that it’s there and it is not going away. To make an

example is that China is like the big brother for North Korea. In being the little brother, North

Korea likes to be loud and assert itself at times where it is inconvenient for China to support

them due to their key relationships which at any minute with a false move, will be ruined and the

world will fall into sure disaster. This relationship carried on because China was looking for

other countries to carry out this victim mentality. They were looking to gain strength and the

state that North Korea has, has dominated their existence for quite some time in similar to how

China has gone about their business but in a less violent and oppressing way. North Korea is in a

state of fully immersion which the people are brainwashed to the point of no return. In China, the

people are aware of what is going on but don’t have the means or the ability to change anything

due to the conditions of human life of the working class. China’s relationship with Japan is also a

very interesting one because they have a long standing hatred for one another. This hatred runs

deep over hundreds of years of imperialist Japanese rule and the dominance that they asserted

over China once the era of the great dynasties was over. Even though, they cannot stand each

other, China has the ability to use the narrative of its economic dominance and keep a

stranglehold over Japan in terms of a crucial economic relationship. Without this relationship,

the face of the economic world would not be what it is today. In the first quarter of this year,

China and Japan have done close to 64.3 billion dollars’ worth of business together. That seems

pretty high for two countries that supposedly hate each other? China is a master at working its

narratives and it shows on many different levels. Another interesting situation that has been

ongoing is the situation in Tibet. The situation in Tibet for the most part is kept hushed but it can

sometimes resurface into a big ugly head whenever countries around the world invite the Dalai

Lama to visit. It is a constant reminder of the state of the situation and how Tibet is still viewed

as an independent country and how China is under an unlawful occupation. This again goes to

show that China is proving itself that it will not be bullied and take whatever it wants and this is

why the narrative of the victim is extremely dangerous because it only keeps the idea of being

owed things it is not in motion and will continue to drive these disputes further. Whether it be

Tibet, Taiwan or other outlying island disputes, this is a huge objective that China has to handle

to get a grip on being the regional hegemony that it so desperately wants.

Everyone is under the lens that China is on the rise, and they are rising fast. With all the

amazing economic growth, gigantic population as well as the awesome rate that it has militarized

itself, this is what we look at in terms of China being on the rise to the top. Regardless of what

we all think, China has not truly been enjoying itself and has been worried about the immediate

future of their affairs in the international community. With great power, comes great

responsibility and in a time where the global stage is full of conflicts a domestic policy is needed

but what really drives a country is foreign policy. Foreign Policy is critical to the success of a

nation. The CCPs biggest concerns lie with their Foreign policy and how they can make it work

for them and how they can get the support of the international community, the way that the US

has gotten massive support in MOST of its endeavors overseas. China’s Xi Jinping is under

pressure from many sectors of society to handle China’s various domestic problems but this has

led to an ignorance of its problems with the international community. To stay in power, he must

make sure that there is a continued economic growth and social stability within the state. This he

has succeeded with but due to the preoccupation with domestic issues alike, Chinese foreign

policy can be expected to be reactive instead of proactive. This alone is will be the major reason

for the decline of China if it goes unanswered. It could lead to major conflict because of the most

pressing matters and potentially catastrophic consequences will come of China’s most pressing

foreign policy challenges: how to decrease tensions with other Asian countries over the islands

and with Southeast Asian states over territorial claims in the South China Sea as well as disputes

with Tibet.

Their short term dilemmas have the potential to drag out into long term ones and dealing

with them now instead of later will prove to be a key decision in the success of China. If there

was to be a violent conflict, the super nationalist narrative as well as the victim narrative will

chime in and move for pressure to act accordingly and to stand up for itself. There is a lot at

stake here. The fact remains is that there could be a divide in regional support for action and this

could drive them into further domestic unrest. The current situation heightening but not at a state

where things could go violent and snap. But soon enough without any attention, this could draw

disaster for China and could drive them into another decline and take away all the work that they

did to bring themselves where they are now.

With being a great superpower, an important thing to have is powerful friends. Even

though there are no true conflicts between the US and China, there are many underlying

problems that are truly preventing a healthy and good relationship between the two. When you

take a look deeper into the relationship between the two, it has never been a pretty one. Mainly

muddled by jabs at one another here and there, it has been a relationship of convenience and a

relationship of necessity. To start, a major problem between the US and China is the issue of

military spending and planning by China. The Blue Team is a group of political theorists which

have the assumption that China’s movement towards the most modern and technologically

advanced is a gigantic threat towards the US. The mobilization of the Chinese military proves to

not be a threat as of now, but power-transition theory claims that within 15-20 years China will

overcome the US which leaves us at a big risk to lose our hegemony over the entire world.

Another major problem in this strange relationship is the Human Rights disputes between

both countries. This is nothing more than a mere “pissing contents” between both countries.

China claims that the US violates human rights all over the world by sticking its nose is conflicts

in the Middle East as well as violates them every time we go to support Israel. They also claim

that the US spies on its own citizens, mistreats inmates in the penal system as well as boasts

about our gun violence and a huge mistreatment of the homeless despite having the biggest

economy in the world. The US fires back constantly by showing the unlawful occupation of the

islands that China has taken as well as the terrible working conditions that their workers endure

as well as their censorship and silencing tactics when anyone tries to speak out about the current

regime in power. This is nothing more than a back and forth of what the other one is doing

wrong and not paying attention to what both can do to stop it.

Even though these have been quite a problem for relations between the US and China the

biggest problem is the US’s involvement in Asia. Singlehandedly this over everything else has

been causing and will continue to cause the biggest rift between US and China’s relationship. In

the growth of a superpower like China the US obviously has been starting to feel threatened as

the economic growth of China is staggering and their numbers have been proving to come closer

and closer to the US every year. In trying to rebalance this, the US is starting to get involved

more and more with Southeast Asia and get its foot in the door by doing everything it possibly

can so that it has a hub to be closer to China. From the TPP to ASEAN, to investing in the

infrastructure of India as well as the island countries that surround China, the US is doing

whatever it can and succeeding to gain the support of these countries in their attempt to try and

curb the Chinese swing and to stop them from becoming the regional hegemony in Asia. In the

US’s attempts to get involved in Asia, they have met much problems from the Chinese.

Accusations of the US trying to create an anti-China bloc which drives the encirclement

conspiracy which many Chinese policy makers and others feel that will force China to lose its

drive and its power.

The biggest threat to China is the US but the US is also its most important relationship

regardless of what close-minded, hyper-nationalist Chinese officials want to believe. These

problems really see no end anytime in the near future. They will continue to simmer and grow

but instead of dealing them head on, it seems as though both the US and China will continue to

work around them and act as if they are not there simply because we are in too deep for any kind

of potential break up. As stated before, there is too much to lose and too much at stake to ruin

this. It will drive the world into a global economic meltdown as well as possibly another world

wide conflict.

Throughout this essay, I touched on the various questions asked and when you review

everything, you look at the question that I stated ties into everything talked about here: Can

China Rise Peacefully? The answer to me is no. It is sad to think that we cannot work past out

problems but on the global stage, and people the way they are I see not enough time, nor the

patience to deal with all these conflicts. There is just too much to deal with and too little time.

Something is going to give eventually and I do not think it will be the US. The US will sustain its

hegemonic power over the entire world because it has already been established but China will

not go away. They may fluctuate from time to time but they will always be on the tail of the US.

The global powers permit only one hegemonic power and unfortunately for China’s dream I do

not think that this will be possible. I could be completely wrong and this is only one perspective.

The only way to truly tell what will happen is time. Time tells all and with this situation we will

all be dying to see what happens next.