China: Great Dragon Rising - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 315

imports and exports) greater than US$ trillion. (The
United States is third after Germany .) Moreover, China
has surpassed Japan as the country with the largest trade
surplus with the United States. More than 40 percent of
China' s exports go to the United States, which buys not
only garments, electronics, toys, and Christmas orna-
ments, but also a wide range of other products from fine
furniture to swimming pool supplies.
China' s exports are competitive primarily because its
large population keeps labor costs low . The large popula-
tion, likewise, makes China an attractive market. After
years of debates and negotiations and after China agreed
to further open its economy , the country was admitted to
the WTO in 2001. This symbolizes and formalizes
China' s prominent status in world trade.
Entering the WTO means that China' is market is
more accessible to the world. Multinational corporations
searching for populous and unsaturated markets were
among the first to advertise their products to the Chi-
nese. At the same time, the Chinese economy has be-
come increasingly dependent upon the world market,
and its industries must improve in order to meet compe-
tition and survive.

tutes have been founded at various universities, and
Mandarin lessons are being given in elementary schools
in countries like Thailand and Vietnam.
T To further cement China' s presence, Chinese migra-
tion is transforming the demographic makeup of north-
ern mainland Southeast Asia from northern Myanmar to
Vietnam. Because of out-migration from Y unnan and
other border provinces, ethnic Chinese now dominate
entire towns in places like northern Myanmar and Laos.
China is Cambodia' is biggest aid-giver, and thousands of
Chinese migrants are creating new villages in that coun-
try as well.
China has more hydroelectric power dams than any
other country on Earth, but it needs more power to fuel
its cities and industry . In fact, China is in the process of
building 216 large dams in 49 different countries. In
Southeast Asia, numerous dams, operated by Sinohydro,
will emit power to link up with the China Southern
Power Grid. Read more about dams and their impacts in
the Southeast Asia chapters.
Mineral and timber resources also draw Chinese in-
vestment. For example, the Chinese are mining bauxite
(aluminum ore) in Vietnam' s Central Highlands. Myan-
mar is a source of timber and gemstones, and according
to plan it will soon serve as a transit corridor for oil from
the Indian Ocean to southern China. In return for vari-
ous infrastructure developments Cambodia is allowing
China to explore for natural gas in its territorial waters.

CHINA IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
In a press for resources and interest in expanding its
spheres of influence, China is investing in an array of
countries around the world. One of these areas is South-
east Asia, where China is employing its new “smile
diplomacy .” China has resolved almost all of its border
disputes and has committed to a specific code of con-
duct in the South China Sea. It work' s closely with
ASEAN and participates in several multilateral agree-
ments. Also, it fosters cultural exchanges with each
country in the region.
Part of China' s appeal lies with the fact that it por-
trays itself as a potential ideal—a model. It emphasizes
top-down development and poverty reduction in the
context of sidelining political reform for economic re-
form. This model appeals to rulers in authoritarian states
such as Myanmar (Burma) and Vietnam. With the Chi-
nese model, regimes have time to figure out how to co-
opt businesspeople and other elites that they need to
remain in power.
China fosters communication between itself and
other cultures in Southeast Asia. It has upgraded its
newswire Xinhua to report in a variety of languages other
than Chinese and English. It has expanded broadcasting
from CCTV—Chinese state television. Confucius Insti-

CHINA IN AFRICA
China is running short of certain resources such as oil to
fuel its rapidly expanding industrial network. The country
was self-sufficient in oil until the early 1990s. Now its oil
imports have multiplied six-fold. At present, a large chunk
of imports (44 percent) comes from the Middle East, but
China is looking elsewhere for this and other mineral re-
sources. The most significant ventures are in Africa, where
there are more than 800 Chinese state-owned enterprises
operating (Figure 11-14). For example, Angola is now
China' s top oil supplier, and the Gulf of Guinea will pro-
vide at least 20 percent of China' s oil by 2020.
As we mentioned earlier, China takes a no-strings-
attached perspective in its foreign investment activities.
It does not criticize other governments for their human
rights abuses. This attitude is despised by the EU, the
United States, and a host of other countries that are con-
cerned with human rights.
One very controversial issue is China' is involvement
in Sudan in light of the despicable situation in Darfur