Understanding China

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews "Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History and Political Structure" by John Bryan Starr. This paper discusses China's ancient culture and its emergence as one of the foremost powers in the modern world. This paper focuses on China's recent admission to the World Trade Organization and as well as its economy which is set to become the largest in the world within the next few years. The writer of this paper examines China's political history and contends that in spite of the country's numerous transformations, the structure of the government is today fundamentally identical with what it was under the later imperial dynasties. Today, there is no emperor at the top, but instead a small committee of the leading members of various political parties who hold much the same position. Although there had been significant changes in China's economy, few political changes transpired. The communists still hold a monopoly of power and although its economic policies scarcely seem to be communist anymore, it does not intend to relax its political grip.

From the Paper:

"Starr contends that China remains one of the most self-contained and hence inscrutable countries in the world. It has an ancient culture of major historical importance, and has been emerging as one of the foremost powers of the modern world. It is the third largest country in the world and certainly the most populous, with about one-fifth of the world's total population. Modern communications make it as easy to reach Beijing from London or New York as it is to get to Singapore or Nairobi. Yet China remains little known and poorly understood; few foreigners learn its language or study its history and culture. Although foreign trade and tourism have increased dramatically in the last decade, they are only very slowly leading to any changes in foreign perceptions of China."

More papers on Understanding China:

• Essay # 143512 : "Human Rights In China"
• Essay # 42764 : "China and its Shifting Foreign Policy"
• Analytical Essay # 31661 : "Loewe, Yu and Han China."

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: