China is one of the largest countries, geographically and population-wise. The leaders of China want to grow the country’s global influence and power. However, China is going about this in the wrong way. China’s thirst for power is causing global tensions with itself and other countries.
China is a Communist government which differs greatly from a Democratic government. Communism is a type of government and economic system where an individual doesn’t own land, factories, or machinery. Instead, the government owns these items. This means that people are restricted from owning or starting their own businesses. Furthermore, everyone is supposed to share the wealth that they create. A Communist country also limits the freedom of speech and the information given to the people to control the people of that said country. Instead of the people being able to choose the president like what we are used to in the U.S. China has the government choose who the president is.
Furthermore, China is the fourth largest country in the world and it has one of the biggest economical aspects out of all countries. As of 2021, China has a total population of 1.412 billion people. Of China’s total population, roughly 74% of the population is part of the working class. The average hourly rate for workers in China is ¥19.5 which is roughly equal to $2.64. Currently, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. As we can see, the cost of labor in China is very cheap. For this reason, many US and global companies export their work to China to save on cost of services and manufacturing goods. Many countries rely heavily on China to manufacture their goods. China controls the manufacturing industry, for China produces electronic devices, clothing, toys, furniture, machined parts, automotive parts, and certain foods like tea, soybeans, spices, ginger, and garlic for more than 120 countries. This is also the reason why many American companies decide to establish operations in China.
Even though China manufactures most of the items we use today like clothing, electronics, and home appliances. China also negatively affects the American economy and many companies. When companies have their products made in China, it is extremely common for the local manufacturers in China to steal the intellectual property from the companies it is providing services for. China stealing intellectual property has also cost the U.S. $225 billion to $600 billion annually. The worst part is that the U.S. can’t do anything about it since there is no law in China that goes against the theft of intellectual property and China’s unwillingness to stop the theft. Stealing intellectual property from these large corporations have created a lot of tension between China and other nations, like the United States. In addition, China is attempting to take over smaller countries, like Taiwan, in order to gain valuable resources. In the case of Taiwan, this country is the leading global manufacturer of semiconductor chips, which is found in almost every electronic device. China is trying to take over Taiwan in order to take hold of these semiconductor chips.
China, like any country, is trying to grow itself but going about it in a way that may negatively impact other countries. China is resorting to stealing intellectual property and intimidating smaller countries for its resources. Ultimately, China’s behaviors are creating global tensions which may result in a war some day.