China: It's Strength

By Rashi Kaushik

China has been constantly in news since the spread of corona virus globally. The deadly corona virus has given a backlash to the whole world in terms of economy, health and education. The question is that if there are more threats to the world from China than just corona virus. China has boosted its economy in the past few decades by being the manufacturing hub of the world. China became world’s largest trading nation in 2013 and is the biggest trading partner for ASEAN nations accounting for 15.2% of ASEAN’s total trade. In the year 2020, China became the largest trading partner of European Union for goods, with total value reaching up to $700 million. China, along with ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, is a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world’s largest free-trade area covering 30% of the world’s population and economic output. China has furthermore strengthened its trade ties with major South American economies, and is the largest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru and several other countries. China also maintains extensive and highly diversified trade links with the European Union. According to world bank, China’s economy has been the largest since 2014 and its

economic growth has been consistently above 6 percent since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978. Between 2010 and 2019, China’s contribution to global GDP growth has been 25% to 39% while India’s contribution has been approximately 6%. Major sectors of competitive strength include manufacturing, retail, mining, steel, textiles, automobiles, energy generation, green energy, banking, electronics, telecoms, real estate, e-commerce, and tourism. China has three out of ten largest stock exchanges in the world- Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. China leads the world in e-commerce and is also the leading producer of batteries for electric vehicles as well as several key raw materials for batteries. Several western academics and institutions have stated that China’s economic growth is higher than indicated by official figures. China has a large informal economy. Such strong economy has helped China build a strong military force. China has the biggest military reserve force, only behind North Korea, with 2.2 million active troops. According to the official data, China constitutes world’s second largest military budget although there are claims that China hides its real level of military spending, which is allegedly much higher than official budget. China has the tendency to expand its territory. The country had its border dispute with approximately 16 countries out of which many are resolved while others are still waiting to be resolved including India. The Sino-Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between India and China. China also invaded Vietnam in 1979 also known as Sino-Vietnamese War in which both countries fought a prolonged border war from 1979 to 1990. However, the two countries remain in dispute over political and territorial issue in the South China Sea. China is a secretive country and we never know what it is capable of. China has the second largest GDP, just next to USA as of the year 2020 and yet it keeps itself among developing countries to avail all the benefits in foreign trade. China has a strategy of working towards making it’s strong enough in all sectors. India needs to work at its full potential make the best use of use of the youth to strengthen different sectors of the country starting with building up a strong economy. A strong economy is the backbone of every developed country.

By Rashi Kaushik