Term Paper on Globalization Effects on
Urbanization in China
Introduction
Shanghai & Honking is one of the most dynamic regions in the world, which has
undergone a big change. The world has come forth to cause this urbanization,
which will be viewed in the back droop of recent developments. It has been for
two decades that china had been completely ignored; by the outside world for a
small island i.e. Taiwan that has been one of its provinces for centuries. West
wanted to have strict control over China, and the flexible Chinese curtain was
countered by a western curtain of rigid disregard, the China consequently
remained without benefiting from globalization process. One fine morning the
world heard of discreet contact made by Henry Kissinger, with the assistance of
old Chinese ally, Pakistan, and there came the normalization of terms of China
with the rest of the world. The one fourth of the world population was given an
opportunity to join back the globe of which, she was an integral part. Over 100
million of people enclosed in Himalayas region was brought out of the memory
attic. China however after succeeding to join WTO, has come on top of the world.
It is soon going to turn its 50 percent of rural areas into urban or allow
migration of big number of people to cities in contrast to its old policy
“visible changes in urban life, has caused great changes in larger political
economy of China” (Logon, John, 2001).
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Resistance To Globalization
Old Thinking: When the communists came to power in 1949, the vast majority of
the country continued doing, what it had been doing for the past thousand of
years, in an early iron age. The main impediment in modernization of Chinese
cities was the same old thinking. On countless occasions when foreigners visited
the suburbs of Peking & Shanghai etc, they found in the agricultural communes,
that they still had the herds of oxen and horses running around, there was no
concept of tractors, machines or any automobiles. China later underwent the
changes and soon started giving up her old thinking and was forced to accept the
changes. The split economy, culture and personalities started benefiting from
foreign influence. How quickly Chinese accepted the change was due to new found
companionship, common purpose and discipline of mass organization.
Influence of Vietnam: Chinese followed the footprints of Vietnam, as she had
withstood American technology so the ascetic militant Chinese too had gone
straight to the roots of the problems that had plagued Asian countries for
thousands of years, the lack of food and low levels of nutrition, gross
inequalities of income and consumption, unemployment and a sense of social
uselessness and the blind expansion of the cities. The Vietnamese influence was
not new in the communist world. Russia however was an exception, which never
accepted outside influence. Political Restrictions: There were so strict, rules
and other political restriction by the rulers, in the cities as compared to
rural areas (where people enjoyed more liberties), hat it stopped exodus from
the countryside, which had reduced the population of cities and thus had stopped
the process of urbanization.
The Effects of Globalization on Urbanization
Background:
China welcomed the normalization of its terms with the rest of the world and
announced the policy of “Openness”. The delegations of official and unofficial
visitors performed a devoted quasi pilgrimage along with the million of
tourists, who thronged the streets of China. The foreigners brought along
western dress, culture, and habits. This was beginning of the influence of
globalization on Chinese orthodox society. The 73 old Chinese premier Chou En
Lai cheerfully greeted foreigners, and his eyes must have blinded by the
constant flashing of the official souvenir photographers. The queue of
foreigners on the waiting list to visit People’s Republic of China grew longer
with the mounting awareness that China was no more a close society, the
absurdity of the past was over. The world looked repenting for having kept China
out of the U.N. for so a long period. China has rapidly accepted the influence
of outside world and China on other hand became the fashion around the world.
China has been lacking in wining a better status in global competitiveness, but
now she looks forward to further urbanization as a major strategy to
modernization and strengthens the economy. 12 million people a year are now
moving towards cities. The process will continue to take place for next twenty
years or so. This move will cause 20 new cities each year to accommodate people
who leave their farms. Total cities, now in China are about 672 (US has around
8,800 cities). According to annual global competition arranged by world Economic
Forum in 2000 “China be ranked 41st representing a decline of 10 places from the
32nd position it attained last year. The fall is due to giving of more
importance to latest technology. “The urbanization rate of China is 31 percent,
meaning thereby 69 percent of population still lives in the rural areas” (Kwang,
2000)
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General Effects:
The globalization has brought a revolution, in Chinese cities. Peking, the
capital of China, that used to be proud of great wall alone, now has high rising
buildings, with all the modern facilities, which can be found in New York. They
may not have, grand structures like World Trade Center buildings, but
fortunately, they are not confronting the menace of terrorism as the citizens of
USA are facing today. The rural population of China has no fear of migrating
urban areas as the peace and security a guaranteed at both the venues and
resultantly the Chinese towns have completely transformed into modern cities.
The gigantic Chinese social experiment has started leaving its impact on the
life of common Chinese people. The Chinese model cannot be analyzed according to
its differences from the western cities. The urbanization may be viewed in the
backdrop of the fact, that Chinese towns have just started theirs Journey to
urbanization, and creating a new world and a new man. The cities in the past
showed an absence of automobiles which as per Robert Gillian, in “neither
backwardness nor delay, but a rejection”, to advertising, neon signs, and the
three fevers of money, alcohol and sex. The massive demographic fluctuations in
China require motherland to accept more influence from world over, “A recent
study estimates that China's population will peak at 1.6 billion in 2040,
compared with 1.2 billion in 1995. It is expected to fall below 1.4 billion by
2100.” (Andrea, 1999)
Effects on Agriculture (Turning towns into cities)
China was an agricultural and peasant country, as its modernization had never
taken place in the past. Now the average size of farming is growing through the
system of communes, with the subdivision into production brigade and teams. The
communes as per latest surveys have been found to be full of latest machinery.
(Although some of the peasant masses stay put and do their traditional,
intensive labor). Agricultural mechanization is being introduced with
considerable caution so as to avoid upsetting the balance in their rural and
urban areas. The essential point of the matter is that the agricultural
laborers, who had been without farming machinery resisted, against urbanization.
Such people have been incorporated in local small industry. China will have to
accept more influence of globalization as its population growth between now and
2020 will require significant improvements in agricultural technology and land
resource management. “China may have to increase its annual grain imports to
40-50 million tons. But if China lags in its agricultural development and
research, it may find itself importing a lot more than that, perhaps as much as
300 million tons” (Andrea, 1999) The globalization has so for failed to leave
impact on this field due to reasons mentioned above.
Effects on Industry
The industry had been mostly decentralized due to overall policy of economic
decentralization. China has benefited a great deal from rest of the world and
the globalization has taught them to introduce a mixed system. The
decentralization is the most important step taken by China since the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution took place. The experience obtained from the
global experience has helped China to free herself from a traditional cumber
some bureaucracy and developed local enterprise. The twenty-six Chinese
provinces have been made self supporting in the field of industry which has
accelerated the process of urbanization in the country as the factory
managements have been asked by the government of Peoples Republic of China to
provide extra ordinary social security benefits (similar to workers of western
countries) to their workers, a big incentive which has attracted large mass
section of rural population.
Effects on an individual Citizen
China is striving to conceive modernization as part of a process of
embellishment of the landscape, development of the people’s cultural life for
the benefit of all. The interest of an individual has been kept before the
machinery. A common citizen is although not very well to do, but his life style
can be compared with any individual of a European country due to extensive
urbanization. Each individual, who resisted to move to cities, in the past has
decided today (as per some surveys carried out by voluntary organizations) to
migrate to cities to gain extra benefits, which has speeded up urbanization in
China. The visible changes in urban life are due to changes in the larger
political economy of China, such as the transition from socialism, market
reform, and globalization, which are quite tangible in their effects on people's
daily lives in Chinese cities i.e. Peking, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, etc. Hong
Kong is probably the most modern city with cultural, economic, political and
ethnological crossroads. It is, the only part of Mainland China to have escaped
the ravages of fifty years of Communism, and has the reputation of worlds
biggest trade center. Shanghai and Hong Kong have the centuries old British and
earlier Chinese Imperialism effects. The globalization surge has now taken their
population beyond eight and seven million of residents respectively.
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Production of Indigenous Machinery
The revolution experienced in the field of production of indigenous machinery
helped china to attract people to urban areas from rural areas as most of the
industrial areas are located in the vicinity of major cities. China has taken
the full benefit of technology and her main industrial base in Peking, Shanghai,
Zhen and Shin Kiang areas have developed a great deal. Hong Kong markets have
also played very important role in introducing the out put western technology.
All the villages and towns located in the south of China (vicinity of Hong Kong)
have completed urbanized. They have got rid of their old thinking of only using
the made in China products so often reflected in their print material. The new
technology, coupled with the revolutionary spirit of Chinese people has
urbanized even the towns located 400 km away from Peking, the growing number of
cities (now wearing a modern look) prove this point.
Effects on Woman
Galeazzo Santini states in one of her articles “From a Western angle”:” there is
a lack of femininity in the Chinese woman. No beauty products, no mention of
sex, either in films or literature”. Mao on other hand says “women hold up half
the sky and women, for their part, are determined to keep their half raised at
the same height as that held by men”(Mao, 1949). All these analogies have
undergone changes due to rapid urbanization and casting shadows of
globalization, the women in villages have changed their out look towards fashion
and style. They now gleefully wear miniskirts, use latest style make up goods
“the radical change in women’s condition in China has given women a sense of
confidence hither to unknown to them, a dignity and an undoubted awareness of
carrying out an important role” (Hsv, Mei-ling 1996). After all Chinese woman
has got the reason of moving towards a place (city) where she could get things
of her choice.
Conclusion
Mr. Chen Weibang of the Chinese Research Institute of Urban Studies said
“China’s decades old policy of limiting the growth of cities was found during
the Asian financial crises” The events occurring around the globe have made
China change the policy of resisting against globalization. The effort was
therefore made to analyze the effects of globalization on urbanization referring
to the old history. That also explains why China has set a steady pace for
urbanization process, i.e. 40 percent of urbanization rate is to be achieved by
2010 and 50 percent by 2020, which is not as good as other elements of
developments, taking place in China. It is said that China has been the land,
which saw the process of urbanization on its soil in the form of “Walled
Cities”, much before rest of the world experienced it. The only draw back had
been that the urbanization was restricted to elites of Chinese society, who did
not allow the commoners to benefit from the development. The “Open Door Policy”
of today’s china, however has given way to globalization process, to cost its
effects and reach the door steps of every citizen of China. Those who cannot
benefit due to rural background are therefore rushing towards cities. The world
has finally done the trick.
References
Hsu, Mei-Ling (1996) “China’s urban Development: Urban Studies” Vol. 33 Chapter
6
Mary, Kwang (29 September 2000) “The straits Times”,
Logan John (2001) “The New Chinese city : Globalization & Market Reform”, Black
well Publication London.
Mao Tse Tung, (1949) “The Red Book: Chairman’s teachings” Peking
Michel Andrieu (September 01, 1999) “International Future Program”
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