China at 75!

"No one in China is fretting over pronouns or any of the postmodern nonsense that infects the West's institutions." 

On the 1st October, China marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. Hong Kong joined the festivities with fireworks and concessions on public transport, restaurants, and cinemas. Meanwhile, in recent days, panda fever gripped the city. The birth of two pandas at Ocean Park enthralled the public like the second coming of Christ, with daily updates on weight gain a feature of news bulletins. 

Then, we had a blow-by-blow account of the arrival of An An and Ke Ke, a pair of five-year-old pandas, on 26th September.  Thus, Hong Kong is now home to six pandas. Everybody was getting in on the act, with Cathay Pacific seeking to polish its reputation by claiming it sent 'top guns' to fly the pandas here. I suppose the author of that tagline didn't recollect the infamous quote from the movie. 

The pandas will undoubtedly prove a crowd-pleaser, although I'd prefer to see them in their natural habitat. That's not to detract from the remarkable success of the Chinese conservation effort. 

On the 75th anniversary, it's only natural to marvel at China's awe-inspiring achievements. In the four decades since 1979, one-fifth of humanity emerged from abject poverty to a life of abundance. The speed of this transformation is nothing short of stunning, and it's mankind's largest and most successful poverty alleviation effort.

In 1980, China's per capita income was only $430. By 2020, it had increased 23 times to more than $10,000. It jumped ahead of the E.U. (including the U.K.) but was still below that of the U.S. However, by applying the World Bank's purchase power parity measure, the International Monetary Fund estimated that China overtook the U.S. as the world's largest economy in 2014.

For sure, the China project over the past 75 years has entailed great strides forward and missteps that had terrible outcomes—periods of disorder resulted in reversals, hence the mantra of stability above all else. At the same time, recent economic challenges underscore the need for China to adapt. 

On the green front, China's achievements are staggering. China hit its 2030 target for total renewable energy six full years early. Even the typically anti-China New York Times concluded that China is leading the world's efforts on renewables and reforestation. 

What's truly astounding is China's relentless pace of change, a pace that Western nations can only dream of matching. By mid-2024, China had 46,000 km of high-speed rail lines, more than double the length of the following ten countries—a feat that highlights China's technological advancements. These advances starkly contrast with the U.K., which struggles to complete a 230 km high-speed rail link.

After the U.S. banned China from participating in the international space station, a move designed as a strategic blow to China's space ambitions, Beijing launched its own space station, Tiangong, in 2021. This significant achievement demonstrates China's technological prowess and growing influence in the space race. China, in cooperation with Argentina, France, and Austria, landed  Tianwen-1 on Mars. At the same time, its sights are set on returning humans to the Moon with a permanent lunar base.  

Meanwhile, the foundations for further growth are laid as China produces more than eight times the number of U.S. graduates in science, technology, engineering, and medicine and has more engineering graduates than the rest of the world combined. 

China continues to make strides internationally as the U.S.'s influence wanes, particularly in the global south. As the Middle East grapples with another spasm of warfare, Arab nations now view Beijing as a genuine mediator. Unlike Washington, Beijing is not seen to interfere in internal affairs. The Chinese approach to trade is without the 'messianic' goal of transforming the world in its image. 

China's Belt and Road Initiative has passed $1 trillion. BRI agreements in 151 countries have seen railways built across Africa and other colossal infrastructure commitments. So, while the West was throwing trillions of dollars away in failed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, China made inroads across the globe through trade. The no-doubt apocryphal statement, "What we get from China is an airport. What we get from the U.S. is a lecture," has more than a ring of truth.

Behind this achievement is a salient point that undermines the standing of the "Western democratic" model. China made great strides without tying itself to the processes that undermined the West. Indeed, that model is increasingly frail as vested interests (i.e., big money) control who gets elected, while overregulation and protectionist sentiments stall progress. And no one in China is fretting over pronouns or any of the postmodern nonsense that infects the West's institutions. 

China has learned and harnessed the best lessons from the West. The West could also learn from China about the importance of long-term planning and investing in infrastructure. 

I have travelled widely in China, including cycling in remote regions. The people's friendliness, curiosity, and energy are striking. Far from being isolated and unworldly, the folks I met have a profound comprehension of China's history, the nation's struggles, and coming challenges. They are not the ignorant masses portrayed by agenda-driven, Sinophobic Western media outlets. 

In the next 75 years, China's influence will undoubtedly grow as a multipolar world emerges. Given the integrated nature of the world economy, China's success is in everyone's interest. In many ways, XI Jinping and his successors carry the fate of humanity on their shoulders.