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An Agenda-Driven China in Today's World



Over the years, the People's Republic of China has morphed from a backward and isolated country into one that can no longer be ignored in the global scheme of things. From a country with underdeveloped cities having nothing much to offer, but cheap land and unskilled labor decades ago, China has pulled off a global miracle. From the days of Chairman Mao Zedong to President Xi Jingpin, the Chinese political system has continued to undergo phases of restructurings and reforms that are responsible for the peculiar China we know today. Key in these reforms would be the country embracing market liberalization and opening up to globalization.

The Chinese political system, although run by the Communist Party has maintained adaptability over the years and has continued to reinvent itself for the overall betterment of the country. From the West, we have been sold the idea that a government can only attain legitimacy through periodic elections. We have believed that the only route to prosperity as a nation would be through democracy and its free market. However, China challenges many of these claims steadily. The communist party has acquired legitimacy through its competence. The party has led the country to prosperity through her economic reforms and has maintained the nation's direction to expand China's standing in the world.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, the satisfaction levels of the Chinese people with their government and their lives rank among the World's highest. The people are well pleased with their government and the direction the country is heading, unlike most of the world's democracies actually. So again, periodic elections might just not be the only way to legitimacy for a government. Neither would democracy be the only way to attain national prosperity.

China's greatest strength would probably be her agenda-driven nature – the awareness of where she is headed at every point. With the various five-year plans and ten-year plans, the Communist party of China has remained determined to establish China as the World's major economic force. This is happening before our eyes today. The Chinese people are truly ambitious, agenda-driven and highly competitive. That spirit is difficult to beat. There is an increasing presence of Chinese investments and businesses in every major region of the world today. Intentionality. Today, Chinese companies produce their own version of every product or service you can offer on the international market. Their local companies are a present threat to major international brands operating in China and beyond. For your SnapChat, they have TikTok. For your Twitter, Weibo. For your Facebook, they have WeChat or RenRen. This is intentionality.

I do not intend to paint China as heaven. China is still very much authoritarian. Responsive Authoritarianism, as Frank Fukuyama would call it. The system still has its weaknesses and restrictions still exist in the country. However, China has questioned the global ideals we hold firm – democracy being the surest and only way to go. The nation has thrived with a peculiar synthesis of political communism and state capitalism. I intend to point us to the lengths a nation can go with intentionality. While the world was lured to China in order to beat cost of production, China with an agenda beat the world to it, with the global economy heavily dependent on China today. There is no avoiding China now.

For nations like Nigeria, I point us to the prosperity that awaits if our policy makers can be more strategic and intentional in building a system that thrives with our peculiarity as a nation. I point us to the prosperity that awaits if government officials can be motivated by something other than money and power. What about National Pride? Or Legacy, maybe.

Ifeanyi Chukwudi

Comments

  1. ezele7 May 2020 at 08:49

    and for apple and microsoft they have no one . but usa still remains the greatest. But USA AND CHINA TO STRATEGIC. ANYONE OR ANY ENTITY NOT STRATEGIC WILL SUFFER AND BEG THE STRATEGIC

    ReplyDelete

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