May-Lee Chai - China A to Z: Everything You Need to Know to Understand Chinese Customs and Culture

S ince the first edition of China A to Z, Chinas position in the world has grown more important. Economically, socially, culturally, and politically, Chinas influence cannot be ignored. China now has the worlds second largest economy and is projected to overtake the United States for the number one spot by 2017. Once known for producing goods on the cheap, China is no longer the worlds sweatshop: the economic boom has helped the country to become the largest consumer market for many goods, ranging from fine art to automobiles, as well as the fastest growing market for luxury goods. As more Chinese tourists travel the world and more students from China choose to study abroad, the opportunities for social and cultural exchange are growing ever greater. At the same time, China and America disagree politically on almost every important issue, including human rights, global warming, investments in Africa and other parts of the developing world, how to handle crises from the Middle East to the South China Sea, and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a democracy and longtime U.S. ally that China considers to be a renegade province.

Despite these continuing disagreements and potential for conflict, Chinas transformation into a powerful, modern nation is a historic feat that deserves the worlds attention. The growing economy has allowed hundreds of millions of people to enter the middle class, one of the fastest economic turnarounds in history. Its a remarkable development, especially considering that just over fifty years ago, more than 40 million Chinese starved to death, some under Mao Zedongs disastrous Great Leap Forward policies.

When the United States and China first reestablished diplomatic relations and Deng Xiaoping ushered in the Open Door Policy of economic reform in 1979, Chinese were still living under the iron ricebowl system. The old Communist system guaranteed everyone a (low-paying) job for life and government-approved housing. The society suffered under these laws: everyone was poor, consumer goods were rarely available and of questionable quality, births were restricted to one child per couple, and political rights were nonexistent. The unleashing of Chinas economic power under Deng Xiaopings reforms allowed for some free enterprise and joint ventures with the worlds companies. The material quality of life in China improved rapidly, although the political system remained controlled by the Communist Party.

After the Open Door Policy of Deng (who was the paramount leader from 1979 to 1997), Chinas next generation of leaders initiated and implemented more economic reforms, even permitting capitalists to join the Communist Party. So long as a person had connectionscalled guanxi in Chineseto high officials, that persons business could thrive. In fact, by 2012 China had the third highest number of billionaires in the world, behind the United States and Russia, and in 2013, China had more billionaires created by the stock market than the United States.

The next challenge for Chinas leadership has been to transition the export-based economy based on cheap labor into a more mature form that promotes domestic consumption and innovation. Manufacturing has already shifted away from clothes and toys, and now China assembles the worlds smart phones, tablets, and personal computers. No longer content to make goods for other countries, China has invested heavily in its universities and research parks, hoping to spark a technological revolution on its own soil. And the effects have been tremendous: Chinese companies are developing green technology, from wind power to solar energy to batteries for electric cars; and entrepreneurs are launching their own social media sites and online shopping sites.