In the past century, the United States has been the world’s sole economic and militaristic superpower—however, some economists recently suggests that China’s economy in the recent years might be able to rival and or surpass that of the United States. These claims of China’s rising power is exacerbated by Americans’ fear of losing our established position as the economic powerhouse. The exaggerations are far from the actual truth of the positions of China’s economic power compared to the United States. China’s rapid growth comes at a cost, and the social, environmental, and governmental problems that plague China will hinder it’s growth potential in addition with its current economic standings. If China continues to go down the current path
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Because of its population of 1.3 billion people China has taken steps to control the growth in order to avoid the point where it become unsustainable. One solution is the One Child Policy which is ultimately a temporary fix as it “[ensures] two generations will be as much as one-fifth smaller than the one before.” (Scissors) It puts massive strain on the later generations culturally and economically as the smaller younger generation has to bear the weight of supporting the much larger older population. This sharp drop in labor from a temporary high will hit China’s economic growth substantially. “The vast pool of cheap labor that fueled China’s economic miracle has already begun disappearing, driving up wages and leading some labor-intensive industries to move out.” (Thompson) The combination of an aging population and the contraction of its cheap labor will make it difficult for China to continue growing …show more content…
However, by looking at different types of data, different conclusions can be drawn. By comparing the U.S. with China in GDP, the U.S. is an obvious victor, but comparing the two with PPP (purchasing power parity) China isn't struggling as much. PPP is the reason why some Americans fear China surpassing the U.S. $100 in the United States isn’t as powerful as $100 in China. As Scissor states, ”PPP estimates are imprecise...” and “...there are multiple pitfalls.” These include—the fact that both economies are too diverse to find an average price, PPP changes over time, and prices change at different rates in different places. A substantial flaw is that PPP can be misleading when projected forward in time. “Nearly all economic projections that show China surpassing the U.S. in the next few years are based on a PPP measurement that is out of date.” (Scissor) PPP is a more situational method of measurement as it distorts certain comparisons. When looking at economic statistics the United States is the obvious victor in almost all categories—almost a 7,000 billion USD lead in GDP, a much high average income, lower unemployment, etc. compared to China. China would not only have to overcome its own domestic issues but also catch up and surpass an economy much larger than itself. China has a very large economy compared other countries except the United States which China pales in comparison. The growth and size of China’s economy
Because of its population of 1.3 billion people China has taken steps to control the growth in order to avoid the point where it become unsustainable. One solution is the One Child Policy which is ultimately a temporary fix as it “[ensures] two generations will be as much as one-fifth smaller than the one before.” (Scissors) It puts massive strain on the later generations culturally and economically as the smaller younger generation has to bear the weight of supporting the much larger older population. This sharp drop in labor from a temporary high will hit China’s economic growth substantially. “The vast pool of cheap labor that fueled China’s economic miracle has already begun disappearing, driving up wages and leading some labor-intensive industries to move out.” (Thompson) The combination of an aging population and the contraction of its cheap labor will make it difficult for China to continue growing …show more content…
However, by looking at different types of data, different conclusions can be drawn. By comparing the U.S. with China in GDP, the U.S. is an obvious victor, but comparing the two with PPP (purchasing power parity) China isn't struggling as much. PPP is the reason why some Americans fear China surpassing the U.S. $100 in the United States isn’t as powerful as $100 in China. As Scissor states, ”PPP estimates are imprecise...” and “...there are multiple pitfalls.” These include—the fact that both economies are too diverse to find an average price, PPP changes over time, and prices change at different rates in different places. A substantial flaw is that PPP can be misleading when projected forward in time. “Nearly all economic projections that show China surpassing the U.S. in the next few years are based on a PPP measurement that is out of date.” (Scissor) PPP is a more situational method of measurement as it distorts certain comparisons. When looking at economic statistics the United States is the obvious victor in almost all categories—almost a 7,000 billion USD lead in GDP, a much high average income, lower unemployment, etc. compared to China. China would not only have to overcome its own domestic issues but also catch up and surpass an economy much larger than itself. China has a very large economy compared other countries except the United States which China pales in comparison. The growth and size of China’s economy