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dijous, 21 de novembre de 2024

> The World's Fourth Economy

> Imbalances

> Lack of Freedoms

dijous, 13 de setembre de 2007

China is the world's fourth largest country after Russia, Canada and the United States and the world's most densely populated with 1.32 billion inhabitants, almost a fifth of the total population of the planet.

Formally a communist country, in 1977 China embarked on a series of economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping, successor to the historic Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Since then, the country's economic reforms have been consolidated, with the progressive introduction of the capitalist system.

Today China is one of the world's leading economic powers and plays an increasingly visible role in international affairs. Two forthcoming events symbolise the new power of the Chinese: the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.

However, it should be said that China's economic reforms have not been accompanied by moves towards democracy. The lack of freedom is continually condemned by human rights organisations, more so than by the leading democratic powers which adopt a more cautious approach towards China.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Política i govern.
+ Changing China: especial, actualitzat, de la BBC.
+ China and Tibet: aplec de notícies de l'organització de defensa dels drets humans Human Rights Watch.

The World's Fourth Economy

+ Beijing's Forbidden City.

China is the fourth largest economy in the world, behind only the United States, Japan and Germany. What's more, it has annual growth that comfortably exceeds 10%, which one of the most remarkable growth figures in the world. China's eastern coastal cities have been the main beneficiaries of this spectacular growth, symbolised by the proliferation of skyscrapers and a modern lifestyle that is similar to large western cities. This Asian country is also one of the world's leading exporters: 21% of its exports are destined for the United States, the world's leading economic power.

Imbalances

+ China's growth has been at the cost of a significant deterioration in the environment.

In spite of this, socioeconomic reality in China is one of significant imbalances. There exists a great disparity between urban and rural areas, between coastal cities and those found inland, which are far less developed. Furthermore, China's phenomenal economic development has been at the cost of a significant deterioration in the environment. In percentage terms, China is second in carbon dioxide emissions (the United States is first) with twenty of the world's thirty most contaminating cities being in China.

Lack of Freedoms

+ The Tibetan national flag.

A major part of China's environmental problems can be explained by the absence of democracy, along with a high level of corruption. The world's largest political party, the Chinese Communist Party, also rules the country with a rod of iron. Individual and collective freedoms are violated, as in the case of Tibet, occupied by China since 1950. The Tibetan cause has resonated strongly in the West, due mainly to the figure of the Dalai Lama (Tibet's spiritual leader), Tenzin Gyatso, who has visited Barcelona in recent days.

MATERIALS

Diccionari català-xinès
Format:Web
Interactiu i sonor. A l'edu365.cat.
China
Format:Web
Succinta presentació de la revista Time adreçada al jovent.
China: el dragón despierta
Format:Web
Especial de BBC Mundo.
The People's Republic of China
Format:Web
Pàgina oficial del govern xinès.
The Government of Tibet in Exile
Format:Web
Pàgina oficial, amb informació del Tíbet.

QUE HO SABIES?

In China there are two areas which experience relative freedom: Hong Kong and Macau, which have special regional administrative status. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 and Macau was a colony of the Portuguese up until 1999.
A country with a vast history, China has a great tradition of inventions. Paper, paper money, gunpowder, the compass, and printing are all Chinese inventions.
According to the World Bank, between 1981 and 2001, poverty in China reduced significantly: 422 million less, although there are still approximately 150 million people who live on less than a dollar a month.