China's Leap Year

Do you think China celebrates the leap year? And do you think they take it as serious as Americans do? Let us ponder about this for just two seconds…Anyways the moment is over.

China’s own economic leap in the international community for more than three decades by far overshadows an extra day in February. Since people keep discussing “the China threat” and the “Chinese miracle.” Yet, this discourse is fairly a recent one and was not taken serious until arguably when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China ever since joining the WTO is increasingly becoming an economic juggernaut in the international community. This, in turn, has allowed the Chinese government to get people out of poverty the quickest. However, with new wealth and expectations the Chinese government is strained to keep up with the growing domestic demand of a lot of commodities. As a result, China’s foreign policy is often dominated by securing foreign resources. One of commodities in popular demand is the Apple iPad 3 scheduled to be launched in March.

Besides electronic commodities for the consumption by citizens China has to worry about their continued economic progress being able to sustain the growing population. This is somewhat similar to parenthood. Maybe I am just weird, but when people talk about countries I always personify them as people. Makes it easier for me to relate. China like a parent has to put their priorities in making enough food and money to keep having a roof over their head.

China utilizes economic progress to legitimize their governance. Without economic progress many scholars argue that the regime in China would probably have fallen apart. Interestingly enough to secure economic progress they need to secure resources to continue fueling their economic development. Thus, China’s foreign policy is actively making diplomatic relations with many countries around the developing world. These regions are often are Africa, South East Asia, and Latin America.

Africa, South East Asia, and Latin America are regions with a commodity lottery that attracts China’s hunger for resources. An analogy I hear a lot of people using is that China’s recent transformation from largely an agrarian system to an industrialize nation is of a teenager who is hungry. A teenager who is continuing to grow and needs to be fed so it can grow up properly to adulthood. If its nutrients are caught off too early on then it will hinder its growth. Because China does not want to loose their GDP growth of 8-9% any time soon, China is aggressive in importing the commodities it needs to continue to grow the way it is accustomed to.

Looking back in history China had one of the worst industrialized plans known as the “Great Leap Forward.” This promising name it felt short to the expectations of the government. Becoming known more as the “Great Leap Backward.” In spite of many errors thirty years later China finally got it right. Perhaps this how China celebrates the leap year with a “New Leap Forward” every four years since the chaotic “Great Leap Forward.”