The Three Faces of Chinese Power - Essay Example

The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds   If a telescope is placed over the globe to find what is going on it, two scenes will emerge significantly – one, the global financial crisis, and the other is the rising of China especially after recently concluded Olympics.  This book is a kind of analysis of Chinese power internally and internationally, in Asia and in the world, as well as that of U.S.‑China relationship, presented through not just praising but also with the negative and worrisome issues. Here, the power of China is presented with mainly three perspectives Might (coercion), Money (economy), and Minds (idea and intellect).  Lampton starts with the reference to the Chinese history well back to 500 BC discussing briefly about the Sun Tzo, then, Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping up to the present day.  China has emerged but this is unlike the Soviet Union and Japan, just being a military power and economic giant respectively; Soviet Union was not an economic power, and Japan is not at all a military giant on the other hand.  This is a modern China with globalization, urbanization, and marketization making China the stronger from both parameters, the coercive and economic; in fact, there is also the third parameter being the nonphysical what he calls "ideational power."  According to Lampton the credit for Chinas coercive power goes to Chairman Mao, for it monetary power it goes to Deng Xiaoping, and for todays financial and idea power it belongs to the current leaders.    About Coercive power, China is explored in comparison with its relationships with the neighbors and the U.S.; Chinese military capabilities are increasing systematically and effectively.  “The PRC was annually adding between 75 to 120 short-range ballistic missiles (300 to 600 kilometers in range) to its existing inventory” (Lampton 50). There is a mutual stronger and growing U.S.-China relationship; and China wants to do all together for the goodness of world problems.  “China has sufficient nuclear weapons to hold approximately 15-20 million U.S. citizens at risk” (Lampton 52). This might of China does not mean just arms and weapons; it reflects the concept of Peoples Liberation Army to be the military modernization of the forces along with the development of space capabilities “that by 2010 aims to establish an earth observation system” (Lampton 56).   About Financial or Economic power of China it is an obvious case that this power has increased as a buyer, importer, and investor in addition to its old image of being only a powerhouse of selling and exporting recognized by U.S., Europe, and Japan. It shows its “ability of bolstering other countries economies with its vast purchase of their goods and services” (Lampton 89). Other Asian economies are now used to export to China with their increments in the jobs in connection with the trade in China.  China has made a rapid acquisition of U.S. debt amounting not less than 932 billion dollars, pushing back the U.S. to enjoy low interest rates.  Chinas growth is immense when Chinese are seen buying up land, creating businesses, and investing in U.S. with forming a new environment for employment.  Chinese influence around the world is felt with their 1.7 trillion dollars in the foreign holdings.  The success story of Chinas export ability is rooted at its foreign investment with few brands internationally acclaimed.  With rapidly improving economy Chinas participation in the World Trade Organization leaves influences over the Asian as well as world economy.  China is strengthening its internal infrastructure with purchasing of communications and transportation systems.     About the Intellectual (soft) power, Chinese leadership from both government and corporate perspectives is widely acknowledged with its quality, skills, and abilities. “Since 1978 Western analysts have underestimated what Chinese leaders could accomplish” (Lampton 120).  Ideational power "derives from the intellectual, cultural, spiritual, leadership, and legitimacy resources" (Lampton 118). With the concept of ideational power, the Chinas rise is referred as a peaceful rise with “no enemy.”  Lampton believes that China is heading for the power more through a spontaneous path and less with an aggressive approach.  The corporate leaders from abroad are recruited with more talents coming in.  Chinas progress in the field of research and development with its human talent is at the par excellence; 750 R&D centers were backed by foreign investment in the country in the year 2006.  “In 2003 there were 77,715 foreign students in the PRC” (Lampton 154). Beijing is all set for its own global system for communications and broadcasting.  China is a leading source of Asian tourists spending $48 billion in the process.  China model may prove a perfect example for the poorer countries.   The last three chapters in context of Chinas neighboring relations, internal matters, and policy implications respectively exhibit Lamptons mastery over the subject.  Chinas growth prompts its neighboring countries to find economic opportunities at China due to more incentives to cooperate.  Its economic interest in the Asian region remained in direct competition with U.S. power; and therefore, U.S. power in the region is curtailed.   Of note, China bought Australian uranium against U.S. wishes.  The neighbors tend to avoid the dilemma of choosing one out of either U.S. or China.  Chinas growing military capabilities is perceived negatively by the others with suspicion.  With improved strength, a “reassurance” through skillful diplomacy and economic ties is needed as one of the Chinas priorities.  “Reassurance can be part of an ideational power strategy in which values and ideas are shared in the process of interaction between militaries and law enforcers”  (Lampton 61). As far as Asian foreign policy is concerned, a shift is apparent between China, Japan, and U.S.A. “Chinas elite believes that the nations sustained, high-speed economic growth translates into international influence” (Lampton 79).   Meeting the growing demands and maintaining the guaranteed social stability are the most serious concerns for the Chinese leadership at these hours.  Ever expanding middle class (larger than the U.S. population), big indigent class of people, economic and educational inequalities, aging population, public health, corruption, etc. are the issues to be addressed correctly.  The appetite of the growing middle class and the apathy with increased aging people are causing obstacles.  Of note, the ratio of workers to the elderly is anticipated to drop from 6:4 in 2000 to 2:1 in 2040.  When thinking this way, China hardly looks a power county, rather it looks like a poor developing region.  As per Chinese scholar Hu Angang more than 50 percent of the population lives on incomes known as typical of the worlds poorest states.  A clear lack of nationwide security system is still a big question.  The conscious and cautious China fully understand that due to its volatile domestic scenes a minor leak can cause a major social instability. “There is no particular reason to expect Beijing to jeopardize a precarious domestic stability for adventure abroad” (Lampton 250)   With its whatsoever institutional capacity, Chinese policymakers signify the strategic need to “build a societal coalition of intellectuals, the emerging middle class, and elite itself” with supportive and corporatist approach (Lampton 248).  The Chinese focus is both on the domestic inequalities and injustices as well as the world issues with the objective of balanced portfolio of global power. “Maintaining a relatively benign security environment will be to further change the national psychology away from an aggrieved nationalism” (Lampton 274). In the world of globalization, they understand the true involvement of China for the global solutions but with the U.S. leadership.  China politely accepts the U.S. presence and influence in the Asian region with the skillful diplomacy and economic ties. Stressing the importance of U.S.-China correlation, Lampton thinks that U.S. must pursue a harmonious friendship with China, which will be in the interest more of U.S. itself than of the China, and at the large of the whole world. Reference: Lampton, David. The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds. “The Three Faces of Chinese Power.” University of California Press. April 2008. Caliber Journals of University of Califronia Press. 19 Nov. 2008 “The Faces of Chinese Power.” Foreign Affairs. Jan/Fab 2007. Council on Foreign Relations. 19 Nov. 2008 Sartor, Valerie. “The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds.” China.Org.CN. April 2008. University of California Press. 19 Nov. 2008 Frankenstein, John. “The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds.” Far Eastern Economic Review. 5 Sep. 2008. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 19 Nov. 2008 “The Faces of Chinese Power.” SAIS. 7 Dec. 2006. Johns Hopkins University. 19 Nov. 2008 Read More