The rise of China as both an economic and political power has provoked intense interest in the West.
Daily discussions in the US and Europe reflect on the rapid emergence of China's industrial might and potential on the world stage. Much of this discussion seems to be underscored by deep anxiety, however.
The Beijing Olympics provided a focus whereby this anxiety seemed to intensify. Some have raised concerns about a rise of 'China-bashing'. Has it become 'fashionable' to portray China as an 'evil' empire as a means playing up the comparative virtue of the West?
Talk of the impressive acceleration of China's productivity is invariably accompanied by environmental concerns, particularly with regard to pollution and China's increasing demand for material improvements leading to greater energy consumption.
The political character of the Chinese regime is also a cause for concern, with passions raised particularly with regard to the lack of free speech in China, abuses of human rights in Tibet, and alleged complicity with atrocities in Darfur and Zimbabwe, as China plays an ever greater international role.
To what extent is the expansion of China's productive capabilities to be welcomed? Can China provide an example of how to transform less developed parts of the world? Or is the growth of China a threat to the international order and humanity more broadly? Are Western observers right to fear the rise of China?
Is the discussion about China sufficiently objective, or has it rather become a focus for concerns within the West, such as our own ambivalent attitude to economic growth, and fears about our changing place in the world?- NY Salon
Bio
Elizabeth Economy
Elizabeth Economy is Director of Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on China-U.S. relations and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, with particular focus on the environment.
She periodically consults for agencies of the U.S. government and has lectured or taught at several American universities, including Johns Hopkins University (1997) and the University of Washington (1993-1994).
In 1990, Economy was honored with an SSRC-MacArthur Dissertation Fellowship in International Peace and Security Studies.
She studied at Swarthmore College and Stanford University and received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Charles Freeman
Charles Freeman joined USTR on April 15, 2002, as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade representative responsible for the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia.
An Attorney by training, Mr. freeman has had a wide-ranging career, much of it engaged with Asia-Pacific business and economic development issues. Immediately prior to joining USTR he served as Legislative Counsel for Senator Frank H. Murkowski (R-AK), advising on international trade and other non-domestic issues with a regional focus on East Asia. He previously had been Director of the Asia Foundation's economic reform programs in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; before that was Director of the International Herald Tribune's Asia-Pacific program of international trade and investment conferences; and before that was Director of emerging market trading and research for Schooner Capital corporation. Earlier in his career he practiced venture capital and securities law at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault in Boston.
Mr. Freeman received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review and graduated with honors. He earned a B.A. from Tufts University in Asian Studies, concentrating in Economics, also with honors. He also studied at Fudan University in Shanghai and at the Taipei Language Institute. He speaks Mandarin Chinese.
Brooke Gladstone
Since 1995, Brooke Gladstone has worked what still is a rare beat in broadcast journalism: she reports on the media. As NPR's first media correspondent, she's examined the coverage of race, science, and politics, and reported on the battle between Hollywood and the many guardians of American culture; media mergers; advertising trends; and journalism's evolving ethics. She has often been a guest host and contributor to On the Media, and now joins as co-host and managing editor of the revamped On the Media.
Alan Miller
Alan Miller is Director of The NY Salon. He also is the co-founder of London's Truman Brewery and Vibe Bar.
Miller is also a film director and writer.
Brendan O'Neill
Brendan O'Neill is the editor of spiked. He started his career in journalism at spiked's predecessor, Living Marxism, until it was forced to close in 2000 following a notorious libel action brought by ITN.
O'Neill writes widely for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. His journalism has been published in the New Statesman, the Spectator, the Guardian, The Sunday Times, the British Journalism Review, the Press Gazette and the Catholic Herald in Britain. He is also a feature-writer for the Christian Science Monitor in America and for the BBC in Britain.
He writes a weekly blog for the Guardian website, Comment Is Free.
He is a British correspondent for the Polish political weekly PrzeKroj, and has written for newspapers and magazines in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India, Germany, France, Italy and Denmark. His work covers everything from war and terrorism to free speech and junk food. He was a consultant for the book Human, published by Dorling Kindersley and winner of the British Medical Association Medical Book Award 2005.
the thing with china and the environment is that they are producing stuff for the west, and not for themselves. all those ipods and iphones that they make. do you really think they are the ones using them? no. these foreign companies go in there, set up factories, and pollute their country, while foreign companies make the profit. yet some how in the bizare world, the foreigners have the nerve to complain about pollution. if anything, the finger should be pointed at the west for their insane and ridiculous capitalism that convinces people to buy things that they dont need and consume more than they can afford. this is one of the reasons america is going to collapse because the biggest enemy of america is not china, iran, or korea, it is capitalism. if you really want to solve the problem of pollution, then stop consuming so much. china simply wouldnt be producing so much if the west wasnt so wasteful, and didnt have an out of control demand for massive amounts of products. of course westerners cant figure this out. from an environmental stand point, you have that option, or put the factories in your own countries and pollute YOUR own environment, and stop screwing up other peoples countries. if you want to look at threats then maybe you should look at america. i cant think of a single more sabatoging and evil organisation than the cia, that goes around the world killing, sabatoging, torturing, and beating people simply because they wont submit to u.s. business demands.
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