CHINA: Econ. Geog.
Structural Adjustment
Agriculture [chagric]
Reform came to China’s agriculture following Mao's death. First came the Production Responsibility System of the late 1970’s which allowed families to lease a certain amount of land to farm if he family agrees to production quotas to be given to the government. Then they can keep whatever is produced above this amount after expenses are paid.
This system has increased production, improved efficiency, raised rural incomes, and resulted in better crop selection. In some cases families are allowed to own land outright, passing it down from generation to generation. The government takes over the farm only if there are no heirs. Despite these reforms and the mechanization of agriculture, only nine percent of China’s land is arable [wwarable] (suitable for cultivation). With 22 percent of the world’s population, it is necessary for China to import food. With only dry or marshy lands available for future expansion, China faces a difficult situation, given the growing population. Cropland has actually decreased in recent years to about 245 million acres (99 million hectares) and continues to decline each year.
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After seizing power, the Communist leaders and planners established a basic goal of industrializing the state as rapidly as possible. Early on, the Soviet Union was the model to follow, and actually built and financed many Chinese industrial projects. By the late 1950’s, relations between the two countries became strained and Russian support was abandoned.
After Mao’s death, China redoubled its efforts to speed industrialization. Deng Xiopeng introduced a policy known as the Four Modernizations whose goals were to have China become a modern socialist industrial state by 2000. That policy seeks to modernize four broad sectors; (1) agriculture, (2) industry, (3) science and (4) national defense. In carrying out that modernization, China has indicated a willingness to borrow or purchase western technology and scientific knowledge. Industrial development has been impressive as Chinese official have relaxed control of the economy during the 1990’s. The growth rate has averaged nine percent a year compared to the two to three percent of the rest of the industrialized world!
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China is undergoing a great experiment. The government continues to espouse communist dogma while enacting western style economic reforms. Deng Xiopeng’s plan is to separate China’s economic experiments from the rest of the country thus minimizing potential political impacts.
Most of the economic liberalizations have focused on port cities of China’s Pacific Rim [chcities] The trade ports that were established by foreigners during the nineteenth century. These cities now part of a system of five Special Economic Zones [chsez], open cities, and open coastal areas that are to attract techniques and investments from abroad and transform the economic geography of eastern China. In these zones, investors are offered incentives such as lowered taxes, easing of import and export regulations and the hiring of labor under contract. Products made in these economic zones may be sold on foreign markets and under certain conditions in China, with profits allowed to be sent to the investors home countries.
The SEZ of Shenzhen has proved to be very successful due to its proximity to Hong Kong. Covering a hilly patch of 400 square miles, its economy is larger than those of more than a hundred countries. Hong Kong was a British colony and was leased to the British which expired July 1, 1997 reverting back to China. With its excellent deep water port, Hong Kong long has been en major entropôt of the western Pacific between Shanghai and Singapore. It has also served as a listening post for the West and China to communicate to each other. When the Korean war resulted in the severance of economic ties between Hong Kong and China, it redirected its economic ties to the West. Products were made at low cost and markets were found throughout the world. Eventually Hong Kong became one of the world’s leading financial centers, with a strong and broad based stock market. Chinese leader have pledged to allow Hong Kong to continue its market based economy for at least 50 years. But as the deadline approached many of Hong Kong’s citizens have emigrated to Canada, the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore. Even more disturbing are the currency devaluations that are sweeping through many Asian countries which are bringing to an end their red hot economies. How this will effect China’s and Hong Kong’s’ future is unknown.
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Napoleon's remark of two centuries ago that China was a giant asleep and whoever awakens this giant would be sorry, seems applicable today. The Chinese are modernizing their economy, building their defense forces, exporting weapons to U.S. rivals, suppressing internal dissent, and aggressively pursuing their own strategic and geopolitical interests (such as the eventual incorporation of Taiwan into their empire-it had been taken from China by Japan in 1895 [jpemp95] ).
China also has territorial conflicts with some of its neighbors [chneigh] (India, the Philippines, Kazakstan, and Russia). How China interacts with its neighbors, and particularly the U.S. on issues of trade and defense, in the coming century may be as important as relations were between the U.S. and another up-and-coming East Asian power in the beginning of the Twentieth Century - Japan.
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China’s Shenzhen [chsez] one of five Special Economic Zones is located across from Hong Kong. It was created by the Chinese to attract technology transfers and substantial investment from overseas, and to experiment in a market- oriented economy. Shenzhen’s growing influence is because it has the low-cost advantages Hong Kong once had.
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[The text of the above was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]