China update

China

“If the 20^th was the American century, then the 21^st belongs to China. It’s that simple, Ted C. Fishman says, and anyone who doubts it should take his whirlwind tour of the world’s fastest-developing economy.”
- The New York Times

Across China

China will "shake the world"

China is already using 40 percent of the world’s concrete and 25 percent of its steel and aluminum, nearly a third of the world’s iron ore and coal. But that's just the beginning.

Nearly all of the world’s biggest companies now have large operations in China. Many observers advise: watch the movement of "smart money".

Within the next five years, nearly half of all Chinese will live in urban areas. The likely result, based on recent history: many more millions of Chinese will move from poverty to middle class and others into significant wealth.

Based on the CIA's calculations of China’s actual purchasing power China’s economy is already about two-thirds the size of the U.S. economy. But, look at the growth rate for the two countries:

From 1982 to 2002, GDP growth for the United States averaged 3.3 percent. “In China, however, a growth rate twice as high as that of the United States would now be seen as a calamity. Chinese officials themselves say the country must grow at better than 7 percent a year to create enough jobs to busy those regularly entering the job market.” During the same period, China has been growing at about 9.5 percent. “This growth has no equal in modern history. Neither Japan’s nor South Korea’s postwar booms came anywhere close.” – Source: China, Inc. by Ted C. Fishman, pages 11 and 12.

"Understand how China has advanced despite its impediments
and one can sense how much more
it will shake the world
as its remaining, and considerable, barriers fall.”

China now makes 40 percent of all furniture sold in the United States. That’s cost thousands of jobs for those in the industry. But the growth of Chinese industry is not just affecting jobs in the USA, but scores of other countries as well.

China’s leather factories produce more leather for the world’s shoes and clothing than any other country. Currently they are pumping out 70 million leather clothing articles plus 5 billion pairs of shoes a year.

Some eight thousand companies in China are producing about 8 billion pairs of socks each year – about one third of the world’s supply. But look at the growth: in 2001 China produced only about one percent of the socks for the American market. In just 3 years that has climbed to 20 percent. (Fishman, page 70)

The city of Shanghai can currently boast in having:

The world’s tallest building

The world’s largest shipyard

The world’s tallest Ferris wheel (about a third taller than London’s)

And the world’s fastest train (at nearly 300 miles per hour)

Shanghai makes up about 5 percent of the nations economy. But it attracts nearly 10 percent of the country’s foreign investment. Apartment values in Shanghai have been increasing between 20 and 50 percent each year for the past five years. (page 84) Cities the Chinese consider just midsize are building convention and expo centers that would make cities like Orlando or Barcelona feel proud.

China is already the world’s leading manufacturer in quite a few categories, including televisions and many other consumer items. They make an impact on whatever industry they decide to.

Preparing and building for the future

Beijing is currently the world’s busiest construction zone, and not just because of the upcoming Olympic Games. About two thousand high-rise buildings are in process at this time in Beijing.

Although power blackouts and brownouts are still very common throughout the nation, China is already the world’s largest user of solar power for household purposes. China only has about 80 percent of the energy it needs to run smoothly. (page 111) Seven of the world’s ten most polluted cities are in China, according to the World Health Organization.

A large part of that polution is because of all the cars. And based on China's growth, they're just getting started with cars. Only 3 out of every 1,000 Chinese adults drive cars. But China's economy is growing 300% FASTER than the G7 world.

In 2004 China invested US$24 billion in new power generators.

What makes all the above (and so much more) so amazing, is that all this has happened with a government still officially committed to communism. “…by and large China owes its success to a government that grudgingly acknowledged that it could not get in the way of a people determined and resourceful enough to undermine the old radical regime. Understand how China has advanced despite its impediments and one can sense how much more it will shake the world as its remaining, and considerable, barriers fall.” (Fishman, page 41.)

So what does all this mean for you?
What does it mean in terms of the spread of the Gospel?

Notes - and some comment - by David Hall from the book:

CHINA INC.
How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World
by Ted C. Fishman