Peg the yuan? Still? This is a question weighing on many Americans' minds.
Besides the obvious case of the ballooning trade deficit, there are many reasons pertaining to this sticking point. China is after all, leader of the Developing Nations Alliance. A possible conspiracy theory is China utilizing its low-valued yuan to raise the economic power of developing countries, opening up a global floodgate and bomb-blasting the World Trade Organization (WTO). There are only so many countries one can have in the WTO. If there is a majority in developing nations who is anti-globalization, keep your peace. The motive of opening this floodgate is that of China's long history of Marxism and its annoyance with the International Monetary Fund lending the nation a paltry sum of money in the past. In fact, an attack on this soreness was obvious during China's foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing's speech at a press conference on China's ascension this year, 2007.
There is one economic problem, a possible worry that most Americans already know. Leveraging on its huge population and yuan, China may one day marry both quality and quantity goods. This will be a day when China can possibly be the number one economy of the world. It is a cause of dread for many Americans.
There are many factors why this will not happen. Corruption and fraud steeps deep in China and is very much part of the Chinese psyche. When a particular brand sells well in China, there will appear many fake imitations. And they are all at comparatively low quality too. In fact, I had an acquaintance who stopped his business deals in China due to this problem of counterfeiting coupled with corruption. Therefore, it is relatively safe to confirm that quality together with quantity in China will not triumph in the long run.
With regards to this point, America and Europe can continue to manufacture and export high quality goods to the rest of the world. True, Nike and many other brands have always been made in China. Yet, these brands are under Western quality standards. Along with the surging economy together comes rife corruption steeped even deeper, made complicated by the widening income divide. The quality of goods manufactured in China will possibly never be regulated or when attempted, difficult due to the sheer size and large population. A huge and increasing population, together with the deflated yuan, still keeps wages low. This provides no incentive overall to move into quality manufacturing. And here's to let the Westerners in on a secret- Many Chinese who never had a good life do not understand what quality is or think it peculiar once they have experienced it.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is another factor advantageous to America. China will never renounce its heritage. The dragon has always taken pride in its long and rich heritage. In fact, China is keen on exporting its own brand of medicine globally. The health effects of traditional Chinese medicine have always been slow and take decades to realize. Of course, the problem is complicated with India duplicating Western medicine at low rates for the poor. However, the popular medicine in the long run still hearkens to the West.
To date, China is strangely behaving very much like a capitalist while maintaining its communist manifesto, ascending the economic stakes while almost abstaining from any political responsibility. In the long-run, America will never be able to still be the world police with a shrinking economy. And in the long-run, China will never be able to take over this responsibility due to corruption particularly in its police force and military.
Only one last matter waits to be resolved. Where does China see the place of the Developing Nations Alliance in the global climate? This is an organization where certain member countries of this organization are labeled as rogue states. America and the world wait to listen. On too many issues, China has always kept dumb. Sometimes, silence is not always golden.
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