Читать книгу The State of China Atlas - Robert Benewick - Страница 8

up and scattered in the name of modernity. Much of the new building that is not commercial is to reify state and party power with many, new, gleaming, marble-decked buildings constructed to house the local party, government and judicial organs of the state. Beneath the high rises, the Chinese streets are home to a much more diverse life. The markets, restaurants and discos are signs of the new entrepreneurship, or of official organizations moonlighting to make a bit of extra money. The restaurants are filled with the beneficiaries of reform: the private entrepreneurs, those involved in the new economy, the managerial elites, the politically well connected and the foreigners. There are also the millions of migrants who have poured into the cities from the countryside to build the new urban “nirvanas”. They staff the construction sites, work as waiters, shop assistants, masseuses, and in the less acceptable areas of vice and prostitution. Yet not all have been blessed by this tremendous boom and economic growth. There are the new urban poor who have been laid-off from the old state-owned factories or who have no children to look after them in old age. And, as the Atlas shows, the cost of economic growth is higher levels of traffic congestion, air pollution and water contamination. The countryside has also changed, with the collectives broken up and farming responsibility placed back with the households. This has allowed more diversification in agricultural production and has permitted millions to leave the land to find more remunerative work in the small township factories, the construction sites of big cities, or in the joint venture factories of South China. Those who move are the young, the fit and the adventurous. Those who remain to tend to the farm and household chores are the elderly, married women, the children, and the sick. The leadership under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao has launched major programs to try to deal with regional inequalities and to improve the living standards and access to basic services for those who have not benefitted so well from reforms. These changes not only impact on China but have worldwide ramifications. China is now the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the world, most multinational corporations have a China strategy and many countries are trying to align their own production strategies to meet China’s development. China’s economic trajectory, with its incumbent energy increases, is altering global markets for natural resources, and prices will be increasingly determined by projections of China’s needs. The financial crisis of 2008 showed clearly how China’s fate is intertwined with that of global economic health, and there will be consequences that move beyond the purely economic. Already, Japan is badly affected by industrial emissions from China, and the country is a major producer of greenhouse gases. Decisions made in China affect other nations in unexpected ways. For example, the ban by the Central government on logging in southwest China is eminently sensible, but has not stopped China’s desire for raw wood for its domestic and export markets. This is leading to an increase in logging not only in surrounding countries such as Laos, but even in those as far away as Brazil. The State of China Atlas provides a good starting point for trying to unravel the consequences of these changes. It is not only informative but also fun to read and look at. It is highly recommended for all those interested in the momentous changes taking place in China. Tony Saich Daewoo Professor of International Affairs Harvard Kennedy School, November 2008