Chinese Checkers

I am writing this article after a gap of a few weeks which was on account of several factors, mainly I needed some time to relate to the feedback I have been getting on my Monday Musings and to make it more meaningful and relevant for the readers. I am indeed grateful to all the readers who have spared time to send feedbacks and will hope that their support will continue. Another reason for the gap was my trip to China, about which I am writing in this article.

I was fortunate to be part of the delegation that visited China, last month, to take part in the Agri China summit, being held in Beijing. I was really looking forward to this visit as one has read so much about the post reform China and the booming Chinese economy that I was looking forward to seeing these reforms first hand. China has excelled in manufacturing and the whole world is surprised at the costs at which the Chinese are able to produce their goods. It is this advantage of China in the manufacturing sector that has led to their domination of the markets all over the World and contributes to the tremendous trade surplus of China with all major countries. This has also resulted from the excellent infrastructure created by China. Shanghai alone has 3800 kms of elevated roads which has eased the traffic congestion to a great extent. Chinese excellence in production and manufacturing is similar to India’s domination of Knowledge Economy of the world and the pace at which the Chinese Economy is growing may lead to their being the largest economy in the world in a few years.

When we landed at the Capital Airport, Beijing, we were met by Mr Ted Wang, Director of Chinese Travel Services, who was to be our guide and friend for the next week. The first thing that one notices about China is that very few people can speak English, and if one does not know Chinese or does not have a guide, who can speak English and Chinese, one is as good as a blind, deaf and dumb person. Survival can really be difficult and hence our friend Ted advised us to carry the Hotels card which had the address in Mandarin, so that in case we are lost, the taxi walah can take us back to the Hotel. On our way to our Hotel, Mr Ted gave us a preview of China as it exists now. The most remarkable thing about China is that they have a dictatorship and the Communist Party has got absolute powers. Ted told us that Chinese people do miss the freedom and the rights of a democratically elected Government, but development is better and faster in a dictatorship if the top person is sensible and sincere, as is the case in China today. One can not agree more as it is indeed true that democracy promises freedom but sometimes decision making can be difficult when one has to take the opinion of diverse groups of people. This is illustrated the most in the One Birth Policy of China, where any citizen is entitled to only one Birth. This has led to control of their population and ensures that they have enough to feed their population in the years to come.

Another factor that leads to faster development and industrialization is the land policy of China. In China, all land belongs to the Government and no private person or company can own land or property. All properties and land, whether residential, industrial or commercial, is given on lease for 70 years. This ensures that Government is able to acquire land whenever it wants and the associated delays in establishment of industries or projects can be avoided. It also leads to equitable distribution of land amongst all citizens and the issues of landless labourers in not there. In production, the costs are minimized as industrial and manufacturing units are given State land and thus the capital cost of production is reduced making Chinese products the most competitive.

Another very remarkable issue about the Chinese society is that religion plays a very limited role in the lives of people. Most of the Chinese people follow Taoism which is basically about the clash between Ying and Yang which are the equivalent of light and darkness and most Chinese strive hard to increase the lightness issues and decrease the darkness factors, making them more satisfied and happy. Chinese people are very hardworking and even though they don’t pray a lot, God has blessed them. May be this is what one means by Work is Worship.

Mr Ted was not only a good guide but he was very knowledgeable about the Chinese economy, society and political system. He had been a part of the famous Student rebellion at Tiananmen Square, a few years back. Still, the booming economy and the improved standard of living has made him less critical of the Chinese Government where the Communist Party has absolute powers and they have elections with One Party and One candidate making it nothing but a sham. It shows that ultimately what is important for people is to have a better economy and better standard of living. He gave a very interesting example which illustrated the way Chinese society is changing. He said that these changes are best illustrated by the way Greetings of Chinese people has undergone a change. In the 1980s before Deng Xiaoping, the traditional Chinese greeting used to be ‘Have you had food’? A few years later when the TV boom occurred people used to ask at social functions ‘What about the TV programme last night’? This was a way of discreetly conveying that they had bought a new TV set. In the 1990’s the greeting changed to ‘I got my Driving License’? This used to imply that they have bought a new car. Still later in the late 1990s, it changed to ‘I am moving to the country side next week’. This implied that they had bought a new villa and the latest trend was to live in independent villas rather than apartments in the town. Recently it has changed to ‘Have you got divorced’? This is because the increased incomes and hectic lifestyles has taken its toll on institutions like family life and many young couples are opting for divorces even though most Chinese marriages are love marriages. This simple example on one hand illustrates the evolution of Chinese economy and the associated social dynamics.

There are many more learning from China. The main learning was about their Agriculture and Food processing industries, which require one full article. We were exposed to many interesting facets of China in the modern day, the cities of Beijing and Shanghai and the Chinese way of life, which I hope to write about in the days to come.

Have a nice week ahead.

PS Readers can send their feedback to abhish18@gmail.com or by SMS to 9436434432.