China and Globalization, Essay Example

While many anthropologists think of China’s globalization as a modern occurrence, it is necessary to consider that this civilization began to thrive through trade and interactions with others at a much earlier time. As such, Chinese capitalism began as early as 208 BC, when the Han dynasty was in place. During this time period, there was evidence of a series of trade routes between China and Europe, including the well-known Silk Road that was used to trade goods and indirectly benefit the two regions by allowing trading partners to share knowledge and ideas (Killion 15). Thus, many scholars falsely consider China to have taken part in late capitalism, due to their increasing involvement in world trade after 1945. However, this understanding is erroneous because China was heavily involved in local trade before this time period. While their production was not maximized until the modern era, the Chinese have always held the value of trade high and taken advantage of its principles to support its economy. With a rise in capitalism in the modern era, however, it appears that China is trending towards a proletariat revolution. The importance of its historical governmental structure is diminishing and being replaced by value that is placed on the average businessman, because this is what brings financial success to the country. Therefore, it is important to consider that although China is changing, it has been on a path towards these changes for several hundred years.

Due to the current status of China’s globalization and business prevalence, the country is currently conducting business across the world. Conventionally, the Chinese traded with Europe and other neighbors. In the modern setting, however, China plans to expand upon its current economic reach and engage in trade deals with individuals that have high potential for investment. Therefore, one of its major trade partners is Africa. While China has been involved with capitalism since the time of the Han dynasty, it has been able to expand its involvement in trade recently due to an increase in technology that has made transportation of goods and communication with people in foreign nations easier. This fact coupled with the financial incentive that untapped countries have to offer, China has been motivated by determining how it could engage in the best business practices to allow it to turn a profit.

Researchers in China have put forth a significant effort to gain an understanding of which countries have markets that contain the most potential. According to Ching Kwan Lee, “Adjustment to Chinese Investment Copper mines and textile mills in Africa have been the sites of hopes, struggles and desperation from the colonial period to post-independent socialism, and more recently neoliberal privatization” (Lee 647). Because Zambia and Tanzania were known to have large deposits of minerals and other resources without the ability to mine them due to a lack of infrastructure, Chinese businessmen and workers stepped in to assist them with this effort. While this is a deal that appears to have benefited the Chinese significantly more than the African workers, it is important to consider that without the assistance of China, it would have been impossible to remove these resources from the mines altogether, let alone sell them to countries who would want it on the international market. Thus, China’s business strategy is clear; it conducts research to determine which developing countries may need assistance in selling their goods and provides this assistance in order to profit. Many economic professionals would argue that doing so is taking advantage of Africa’s economic conditions and resources, but others would argue that this is a fair practice because Africa needed the help and it was given, even though help was received in order to gain a large cut of the profits from these practices.

While it would appear that China’s involvement in Africa is an example of late capitalism, it is necessary to consider that China had been employing these trade tactics prior to the 1900s. During the Song Dynasty, the Silk Road was expanded as a trade route and supplemented using new technology of the time. The country initiated a large sea fleet, which served for both defense and travel purposes. Because of this new technology, China was more able to trade with the Middle East and parts of Africa. However, the economic development that occurred since the end of the Song Dynasty in approximately 1200 AD grew significantly. Because of the trade that it had conducted with other nations, China began to develop a more effective trade plan that is reminiscent of what is seen from the country today.

The identity of “primitives” “third-world people” and “indigenous people” plays a major role in China’s current business practices because these individuals are seen as sub-human in some instances. China engages with trade in Africa because the Chinese know that they are able to take advantage of this relationship. Since China has a stronger economy, it is able to provide benefit to Africa in a manner that isn’t fully favorable for the country, but will still be accepted by this trade partner due to their need to raise funds to support their people. Thus, it is apparent that the concept of third-world people plays a role here because China specifically targeted Africa for business because it considered its infrastructure to be underdeveloped, thereby giving Chinese businessmen an opportunity to enter this market without much competition. Furthermore, it doesn’t appear that there is a significant amount of respect for these individuals because Chinese businessmen know that they are taking clear advantage of them. Overall, it is important to use this understanding to determine how China conducts its business practices. Although it is involved in trade on the international scale, China’s engagement with Africa is primarily because they see a business opportunity present in a third-world nation.

Some researchers that study the involvement of China in Africa claim that Western civilizations have an ethnocentric view of this relationship, which therefore makes it appear that China’s capitalistic involvement with the region is a negative action. These individuals claim that, “While China’s presence in Africa should be critically examined, interest in the West is skewed by elite perception of China as a rival for resources and influence in Africa, and the tone of discourse is far more negative than that accorded the Western presence in Africa” (Sautman & Hairong 9). Thus, these individuals argue that the belief that China’s involvement in Africa is detrimental to African’s is simply an act of jealousy because Western cultures want to have the same dominance in the area that China does. Thus, it is plausible that both Western and Chinese cultures look negatively on Africa as a third world country, claiming that it is nothing more than land to capture for economic interests. On the other hand, it is plausible that Africa is taking in part in trade with Africa in order to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship. It could also be said that some of the anger and bias that is present among Western cultures towards China for its involvement in trade with Africa can explain China’s categorization as a late capitalist country. It would not be surprising if the country was given this name simply due to frustration from the West, which has been engaging in extensive world trade for a seemingly longer time than China. However, historians would disagree with this stance because China has been involved with trade since the time of the Han dynasty, indicating that this belief is more of a misconception of the Chinese than fact.

It is important to consider that China’s economic prowess is not a consequence of government interventions. Rather, it is an example of a proletarian revolution taking place. In historic China, such as during the Han dynasty, it was the emperor who was primarily in charge of trade partnerships and international relations. In the modern setting, however, the people are taking charge of these relationships by engaging in trade with other nations. While the government still regulates these relationships, it does so in a manner that allows for trade to occur more freely because those in power understand the benefit of trade to their country. Because so many Chinese natives have become involved in trade, its economic stability has enhanced by significant amounts over time. It could therefore be said that even though this country took time to equal the economy of the United States, it has surpassed the power of strong Western nations at this point in time. Thus, there is clear evidence that the proletarian revolution is succeeding in China. It now appears that the common people have just as much power as the government. If they stop their businesses, China would crumble to the ground. Thus, the country of China has become somewhat dependent on the input from these businessmen because the taxes on these businesses are used to support the government and its people.

Because the proletarian revolution and capitalism is continuing to expand in China, it is important to consider that the Chinese continue to reach out to countries like Africa in new and unique ways. For example, the Chinese have used their connection with Africa to introduce traditional Chinese medicine. While there is some economic benefit for doing so, it could be said that this is largely a humanitarian effort and an indication of African interest in Chinese culture. According to the literature, “Dawa ya Kichina is often considered a rapidly effective ‘advanced’ ‘traditional’ medicine; its ready-made patent formulas, which make it look ‘scientific’ and ‘modern’, are easy to consume” (Hsu 291). Thus, these remedies are easy to obtain and cost effective, which makes them beneficial in areas with low economic power. As a consequence, it is clear that some Chinese intervention was meant to have clear positive effects. It is therefore important to consider that the influence of China in Africa can have a series of positive influences that are not easily seen on the surface.

In conclusion, China is not a late capitalist county due to its involvement with trade prior to the 1900s. Furthermore, its practices are starting a revolution to engage working class people in trade and to provide them with power. The Western view of Chinese intervention in Africa is negative because according to this ethnocentric view, the Chinese are taking advantage of them. However, this is a mutually beneficial trade relationship that provides just as much benefit to Africa as China. Thus, it is important to examine trade relationships from multiple perspectives to determine the ethical nature of these practices

Works Cited

Hsu, E. “The medicine from China has rapid effects”: Chinese medicine patients in Tanzania. Anthropology & Medicine 9.3(2002).

Killion, U. A modern Chinese journey to the west. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2006.

Lee, CK. Raw Encounters: Chinese Managers, African Workers and the Politics of Casualization in Africa’s Chinese Enclaves. The China Quarterly 199(2009): 647-666.

Sautman, B., Hairong, Y. The Forest for the Trees: Trade, Investment and the China-in-Africa Discourse. Pacific Affairs, 81.1(2008): 9-29.