Paper Example on Economic Development and Political System in China

The political system in China is non-democratic and authoritarian that has facilitated the adoption of the free market economies from the western countries. All the economic activities are governed by the government of China as opposed to many developing countries where economic activities are controlled by the private sector. The aspect has made the country to have a planned economy that has speeded the rate of economic growth and development. The reason is that the process of decision making is quite fast and the government can be strong pass laws and policies that are beneficial. Such policies include the plan to spend 2.2% of its gross domestic product on research and development and shifting the coastal areas to become hubs of research and development and specialize in manufacturing and service provision (Coale et al, 2015).

Energy supply

The energy base of China has contributed a lot to its economic growth and development. The base has been upgraded since the 1990s with nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. Also, the country has resolved into large power-station of coal-fired and imports from Indonesia and Australia. But, the urban area has been highly polluted and therefore reducing the capacity to produce electricity (Blaikie, 2016).

Investment in infrastructure

The fast economic development in China can also be explained by its investment in infrastructure. Several roads have been constructed, and the railway system has been extended to make China navigable. For example, the country boasts of having five among ten of the world's biggest container ports. The infrastructure has enabled urbanization that has driven the economic development of the country (Xu et al, 2014).

Economic diversification

Economic diversification has also played a great role in Chinas fast economic growth and development. Just recently, the country began to expand into research and development and specialization in both hi-tech industry and manufacturing. The country has ventured into innovations of labor and capital to maintain its economic growth and avert the risk associated with operating in a limited economic base.

It is investing labor and capital in innovation so that it can sustain its economic growth and reduce the risk involved in having a narrow economic base.

Education

In the past twenty years, the level of literacy in China has risen tremendously. Currently, the literacy level is at 95 %, and the aspect has contributed a great deal towards the fast economic development of the country. The country has large percentages of skilled labor and unskilled labor that is highly required in the industries, for example, each year China can train over 600, 000 new engineers.

Socioeconomic Opportunities that have developed entrepreneurs and consumers in China

Various socioeconomic opportunities have enabled the entrepreneurs and consumers to be successful in China. The most important aspect that has allowed the growth is the increase in financial services for instances the availability of funds that have enabled the commercial activities to increase in China (Hiebert et.al. 2015). In essence, the economy has developed to that extent that the business operations have improved incredibly. The result of the growth of the financial sector has created opportunities for entrepreneurs to borrow funds for expansion of their business while for consumers they have benefited from the availability of various goods and services (Drucker, 2014). Currently, the Chinese government has engaged its citizens in various socio-cultural activities that have opened opportunities for entrepreneurs to invest in such opportunities. The reason for such interactions of cultures has eased on how communities perceive certain goods or services in the country, and therefore, there has been an increase in the business activities in the country (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2016).

Concerns Regarding Chinas Economic Sustainability

Chinas economic sustainability is a complex issue that involves not just environmental degradation and lack of better policies but also weak civil society and a single economic model. The country has not been able to achieve stable growth and bring to equilibrium the environment and economy. China uses capital intensive methods of production, and as such, there has been environmental degradation as a result of negligence. The life expectancy in China has reduced due to the polluted air, water, and soil (Chen et al, 2013).

Another major concern of economic development in the country is Chinas weak civil society. For example, there is the lack of freedom in various aspects of the media, religion as well as a lack of freedom of speech. The result is that social and human capital has been incapacitated. Moreover, prospects for quality of life and sustainable growth have been discouraged. The political leaders in China do not support the establishment of civil society in the country because they fear that freedom may cripple the government and scrap of its additional power (Crane & Matten, 2016).

Also, the economic development of China can be attributed to a single economic model. The economic model in the country is accompanied by the massive production of goods that are of low quality and application of cheap labor. Therefore economic growth and development in the country have lost its efficiency. The financial system has developed unsustainability as the population continues to grow with the increasing cost of wage diminish the supply of cheap labor. The countrys changing demographics make this system increasingly unsustainable, as Chinas aging population and rising wage costs eat away at the abundant availability of cheap labor (Sueyoshi & Yuan, 2015).

References

Coale, A. J., & Hoover, E. M. (2015). Population growth and economic development. Princeton University Press.

Blaikie, P. (2016). The political economy of soil erosion in developing countries. Routledge.

Xu, S. C., He, Z. X., & Long, R. Y. (2014). Factors that influence carbon emissions due to energy consumption in China: Decomposition analysis using LMDI. Applied Energy, 127, 182-193.

Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.Hiebert, D., Rath, J., & Vertovec, S. (2015). Urban markets and diversity: towards a research agenda. Ethnic and racial studies, 38(1), 5-21.

Horner, S., & Swarbrooke, J. (2016). Consumer behaviour in tourism. Routledge.

Chen, Y., Ebenstein, A., Greenstone, M., & Li, H. (2013). Evidence on the impact of sustained exposure to air pollution on life expectancy from Chinas Huai River policy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(32), 12936-12941.

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Sueyoshi, T., & Yuan, Y. (2015). China's regional sustainability and diversified resource allocation: DEA environmental assessment on economic development and air pollution. Energy Economics, 49, 239-256.