Throughout the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama identified similar villains, among which were the deficit, Syrian President Basher Al-Assad, and China. While the former two are certainly far from benign, I take issue with the third subject. China is frequently targeted as a threat to US economic interests during American election seasons. In the 1992 election Candidate Bill Clinton accused the Bush Sr Administration of being to soft on the human rights violations of who he referred to as "the butchers of Beijing." In the 2000 election, Candidate George W. Bush insisted that the Clinton Administration's definition of China as a "strategic partner" was misguided, suggesting that the term "strategic rival" was more accurate.
Earlier this fall, Mitt Romney stated that "China has been a currency manipulator for years and years and years. And the president has a regular opportunity to label them as a currency manipulator, but refuses to do so." Romney went on to promise that "On day one, I will label China a currency manipulator." No doubt the statement would have been referred to as Romney's "Guantanamo Promise" had he been elected, but instead of being above the political child splay, President Obama called Romney's bluff. In Mid September, President Obama filed a suit against China in the WTO against illegal subsidies for China's auto industry, no doubt a nod to the auto-labor vote that won President Obama the Great Wall of Midwest Swing states. President Obama also didn't forget to tout his record on pressuring China for currency manipulation. During the second presidential debate, Obama stated that "as far as currency manipulation, the currency has actually gone up 11% since I've been president because we have pushed them hard. And we've put unprecedented trade pressure on China.That's why exports have significantly increased under my presidency."
As an American who currently works and lives in China, I'm annoyed that the American political system must cater to a misinformed electorate to express US policy on China. True, China is a rival, but it is also a partner. As it is with Republicans and Democrats, China and the US must work together to forge solutions to 21st century challenges. True China may be an idea stealer, but it is not a job stealer. Instead of viewing the violation of intellectual property rights in China with sustain, I choose to look upon it with sympathy and pity. Cheaply manufactured copies of designer clothes, electronics, and apparel reveals China's greatest weakness and America's greatest asset against China's rise, the power of human capital and innovation. The most striking observation I have gathered from teaching my classes is the complete lack of creativity from students. Acquired skill, swift memorization, and community ethic are strong here, but the flame to create flickers in a chamber with an oxygen content similar to the skies of Beijing.
What bothers me most about China bashing in US politics is the socially constructed image Americans are given of China as a homogenous system where people are akin to parts in a cold and lifeless machine. It is illustrated as a nation with no other objective than the subjugation of the US economy in effort to separate Americans from what is rightfully theirs.
This image could not be farther from the truth. Yes, China is extremely bureaucratic, hierarchical, and to an extent patriarchal (this is swiftly changing). However, the most beautiful thing about Chinese society is it's disunity and randomness. This quality expresses itself in the anarchy of Chinese traffic which is akin to a scene in a Dr Seuss book where trucks, cars, buses, bikes, cattle, and motor vehicles you never even knew existed collide into a vortex of confusion. It expresses itself in city parks where one can find Chinese citizens at leisure, playing basketball, fishing, skating, playing western and chinese traditional instruments, kicking around a Chinese hacky-sack(jianzi), or a singing in a choir. It expresses itself in the live chickens that can be found in any rural or suburban area freely strutting alongside humans without reason. It expresses itself when a whole restaurant staff dances in unison to Korean pop music to boost employee moral. It expresses itself in the group of Foxconn workers getting drunk on a week night at a local restaurant. It expresses itself (unkindly) when your boss calls to tell you that you will be going on a day field trip or be filming a promotion advertisement at the last minute due to the bureaucracy's failure to inform you prior. China isn't as predictable as Americans make it out to be. Any American would be surprised at what can be found here.
Furthermore the Chinese people in the context of China is unfair to the former, a farce I too have been guilty of. One cannot simply lump 1.8 billion people into some unified object, and it is ludicrous to assume that the motives of growth for the Chinese are anything more than self interested. The Chinese are not out to "steal" American jobs. In reality the Chinese dream and the American dream are similar. The average Chinese citizen wants a safe and healthy working conditions, healthcare, housing, a family and security for that family. Despite the transference of manufacturing jobs from America to China, a large majority of Chinese citizens can't achieve these goals unlike their American counterparts. Most Chinese people I know work every day not expecting a living wage or a vacation with the family to see some of the infinite beautiful places their country has to offer.
The American illustration of such China is void of color and natural beauty. When Americans picture China, they conjure up images of the black skies of Beijing, dark shiny waters polluted by sewage and agricultural runoff, villages pummeled by earthquakes, and perhaps a snapshot picture of the Great Wall. This is a shame. Despite it's numerous environmental disasters, China still has an abundance of natural wonders such as the blue waters of JiuZhaigou, the misty mountains of Guilin, the austere peaks of Huangshan and Taishan, the never-ending majesty of the Tibetan Plateau, the tropical beaches of Hainan, and the roaring waters of the Yangze River to name a few. There is far more to China than its factories. The mountains, rivers, and forests of this country have inspired painters, poets, generals and explorers for centuries.
Americans see China as a negative subject for the most part. This is largely due to the fear America has for change in the 21s century world order. China has become the second most powerful economic actor in the world. Americans ponder, they don't look like us, and they don't have a democracy, can they be trusted? These feelings are normal, and America has already experienced them with another Asian economic rival during the 1980s, Japan. But we shouldn't let it consume our actions and our words.
America still is the most powerful military actor and most influential economic actor in the world. Our problems may be numerous, but blaming China will not yield solutions. The solutions come from within our gridlocked government, slowly recovering economy, and the ingenuity of pour people. China to has its problems, corruption, environmental degradation (the results of a growing economy), vast income inequality, a housing market bubble, and on top of that slowing economic growth. These are challenges that the new leaders of China must and will confront.
Two weeks ago, China had it's own election which yielded the first transfer of power in ten years. During the 18th People's Congress, Xi Jing Ping was elected as president and Li Keqiang was elected as Premier. During his acceptance speech, President Xi pontificated China's contributions to mankind and the integrity of the Chinese people. Towards the end of his speech, Xi stated "China needs to learn more about the world, and the world also needs to learn more about China." These words give me hope that common ground can be forged between our two countries.In the end, all that really separates us is the Pacific Ocean.
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