While everyone is focusing on China from an economic perspective little attention is being paid to the eccentricities of the Chinese culture. China has emerged as an economic power, to a great part, by casting aside its introverted nature. The Great Wall of China not only kept people in, it kept change and ideas out. This shy culture has been cast onto the stage of global responsibility without having had the benefit of participating in global diplomacy for decades. What we may decode as cold and calculating may simply be a quiet reservation. What appears contrived may be a form of respect for an old foe.
The other more intriguing aspect of China is in its duality. While most nations practise some form of democracy, communism, monarchy, tribalism, dictatorship or theocracy China has rendered itself pliable in its form of government. It fits no conventional model yet adapts to circumstances and events on a need basis. It shifts from one to the other to deal with circumstances it is unfamiliar with. This can in some way deal with the social phenomenon known as “saving face”.
China’s greatest strength is in its resilience and ability to take risk, any risk. Emerging from poverty may appear an easy thing to do but power must relinquish its authority before such action can take place. The power brokers of this one time communist state did take that risk. It is much too soon for other nations and authorities to challenge China on issues of human rights and the environment. The Chinese contribution to mankind’s saga is well known so let its wisdom and patience guide China’s progression into the realm of human rights and more socially responsible policy. It should be noted that North American corporations have made it corporate policy to dilute “social responsibility” from their balance sheets and governments have maintained a hidden agendas in their accountability to their citizens. What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander.
On the economic front many have argued that America’s biggest creditor is in fact in a more precarious position than its debtor. That China’s dependency on the American market drives this symbiotic relationship may in some part be true but China has expanded beyond this relationship to become a power-broker for global growth. Once again the duality of China can be seen in its roles of master and servant. This type of thinking has its roots in racism and Western and European mindsets which are incapable of envisioning “The Yellow Race” as the face of the future.
China’s duality is even more dynamic when you take into consideration that it is exporting an army of young minds into American and European universities and then re-importing them to build a self-sustaining empire. It is absorbing and then excreting. This loyalty and patriotism is bread by something democracies have lost – “Inclusion for all”. More interestingly is the declining interest in the Chinese wanting to learn English and more foreigners wanting to learn Chinese. The paradox is not only amusing it is “Confuscious”!
To under-estimate China militarily would be a mistake. The duality of this nation state will no longer accept degradation, humiliation and oppression as an option. It can revert from a quasi-democracy into a military dictatorship overnight. China’s military strength in nuclear arms, submarines, conventional weaponry, armed forces and in its strategic geographic positioning is supplemented by one of the largest underground tunnel systems in the world. Having China as an economic partner is probably good foreign policy for many a government, even the United States.
Hopefully Harper will get it right and not embarrass us. I hope Harper left Canada with the pre-disposition that Chinese investment in Canada is not a bad thing. If it’s right to import billions of dollars of their goods into our economy, why can’t we just have them made here with their money? We would create jobs, collect taxes and teach the Chinese something about social responsibility.
Thank you,
Joseph Pede
Joseph Pede
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