Sessions 3&4 - April 10

[Taylor Bub]

I would be so interested in reading the article you found about the canal China is building in Nicaragua.  I think that it would be an interesting comparison for students to explore the similarities between China reaching out and utilizing other countries for cheap labor, and how the United States currently uses countries like China and India for the same.  One question that could be asked is, how can we, as a country or even as a world society, promote the idea that the labor of people, no matter where they are from, should be compensated fairly and similarly, regardless of what country that person was born in.  It could be interesting to allow students to research labor laws and treatment of 'employees' in 3rd world countries, and hold an in class discussion.

I also fully agree with your statement that China has a long way to go in terms of 'going green'. They are still one of the number 1 importers of good in the United States, and many of the items that are exported from China are low quality, plastic products, designed to last only a few months or years before a replacement would be needed; which only adds to our world's growing problem of pollution.

[Melina Melgoza]

Hi Martha,

These are some great questions you pose. I wonder, to what extent U.S./China partnerships are also self-interested and how might this be harmful to the communities that they are working with. Personally, I don't quite care about who "leads" the work, but rather why and to what extent might this harm certain communities. I find that so much of history has taught us that countries are self-interested and when they claim "partnerships" it is not always the case. Certain states, countries, locations, and its people are exploited for wealth.

[Melina Melgoza]

Taylor, I wonder the same. I find that so many advancements in China, the U.S., and well every other "major" country has an ability to "develop" because of their exploitation of something: earth, people, labor. Which leads me to ask an important question: "At whose expense are certain countries advancing? Is this right? Does human development and advancement outweight the effects of labor exploitation? Is there a balance and where do we see it play out as a balanced experience?

[Melina Melgoza]

Sean, your post really made me think about so many action items that must be taken into account when considering the implementation of something new. Similarly, I wonder who gets to decide that is higher in level of importance to consider. Should endangered habitats and species be of utmost importance? Historically, we've seen quite the opposite, habitats and species are destroyed for profit. We must certainly consider China's historical placement in our courses, students must understand how a lot of the events happening in the world have China's influential hand in there.

[Deirdre Harris]

I agree with you Sean about what Professor Dube said about how we as teachers can find a way to bring these issues we're learning about in China into our curriculum.  It's a bit more of a challenge for a 4th grade class, as opposed to a 7th grade class or higher, but even a 10-year-old can understand about the "New Silk Road" BRI and it's impact on endangered species, pollution caused by coal plants, to make steel, and how a government can manipulate and try to pretend to be something it's not through politics and how this might affect other cultures.  I especially enjoyed the writings of Jessica C. Liao.  I feel that her analysis is deep, critical, and hits right at the heart of where the US should put pressure on China, in order to make them live up to the promises they have made, and the committments they say they will follow through on.  "How to reconcile the contradiction between China’s push for a green BRI and its investment record at the same time?   It seems that China seems to say one thing, but do another. The answer lies in the fact that a mercantilist China on the one hand, is touting eco-friendly and renewable exports, yet, on the other hand, it remains reluctant to close up regulatory loopholes and phase out environmentally detrimental ones in order to maintain Chinese state-owned firms’ global foothold."  I feel that Liao tells it like it is, and holds China accountable.   They seem to be looking to the future, and we need to be doing this also.  China seems to be looking out for themselves, but trying to show the International world they are focused on a Green BRI.  Thank goodness for experts like Jessica Liao.  

[Deirdre Harris]

OBOR is President Xi’s most ambitious foreign and economic policy initiative to date.  There is little doubt that the objective of this initiative is helping China to achieve geopolitical goals by financially binding China’s neighbouring countries more closely to China. But there are many more economic objectives that should not be overlooked. The most achievable of OBOR’s goals will be its contribution to upgrading China’s manufacturing capabilities. Given China's ability to finance projects and its leverage over loans to other countries and their factories, Chinesemade high-end industrial goods such as high-speed rail, power generation equipment, and telecommunications equipment are likely to be used widely in OBOR countries. More questionable, however, is whether China’s neighbours will be willing to absorb its excess industrial capacity. The lack of trust between China and some OBOR countries, as well as instability and security threats in others, are considerable obstacles. Chinese bankers will likely play a key role in determining the success of OBOR. Though they have expressed their public support for President Xi’s grand vision, some have urged caution both publicly and in private. There is a general recognition that this initiative will be a decade-long undertaking and many are treading carefully.  Many of these countries don't trust President Xi's words, and are playing the wait and see game.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I just read an article about how the workers building this One Road One Belt, as many call it, are not being treated well at all by Chinese companies that employ them.  It states that many workers had falsely been promised specific wages, and then being paid less than promised.  That once they arrived, their visa's and passports were taken, and held unless they paid a fine to the company that hired them.  Their living conditions were very poor, and they were being watched by security.  They also worked up to 12 hours per day, seven days a week.  Many workers who needed medical help were declined such assistance, and one worker from Indonesia who developed Covid-19, was left alone, and was found dead 20 days later.  This is the way the Chinese seem to be treating the workers who are building the new Silk Road.  

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17403/china-belt-road-forced-labor

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[Deirdre Harris]

I found this information to be relevant to our Asian Studies class, and wanted to share it.  A sudden bi-partisan bill overwhelmingly passed in Congress this week.  A  spending bill that usually only gets partisan votes.  The legislation that was just adopted was one of the biggest examples of a bill that the US has put together like this in many decades.  This Industrial policy uses taxpayer dollars, to involve the US Government directly into the private sector economy by injecting massive amounts of capital.  A quarter of a trillion dollars over a period of 5 years, according to the New York Times.  That's a lot of money.  But everyone in Congress agreed, and that's the strange part.  Why?  Because we don't want to be dependent on China anymore.  On the list are things like semiconductors, for computers, autonomous vehicles, robotics, artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology, quantum computing for denfense and manufacturing.  How will the money be spent?  China has been spending heavily in these areas since 2015.  It seems that both of our countries have realized that they don't want to be dependant on each other.  Our senators are waking up to the fact that the US is behind in areas like creating 5G power, manufacturing semi-conductors and more items as previously mentioned before. Over time, this has created a concensus with our policy-makers, that they want to be less dependent by 2025 on Chinese technology. 

I'm happy to hear that our government can finally agree on a common goal that is good for our country.  It does seem a bit fear-based, but maybe that's what needs to happen to stay competative in the world markets?  I thought this was newsworthy, and something that was worth mentioning, as we discuss trade, politics, and learning about other cultures.  Even though it's imperative for our students to learn about other culture's ideologies, and motives, we also need to teach them how our policy-makers view other countries.  While we want to be friends with China, there does seem to be some trust issues or skepticism involved, and perhaps that's normal and healthy.  But as we raise the next generation, we do want them to have their "Eyes Wide Open."  

[Cynthia Jackson]

Last year, I participated in a study group to help unit plan the curriculum changes my grade experienced this year and will continue to experience next year. Originally, my colleague and I discussed East Asia’s role in international affairs and wanted to create opportunities for students to understand the stories they hear in the news about China, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. The plan was to end our East Asia unit with a focus on these essential questions: “How has trade influenced international collaboration and conflict in Asia? How do political structures differ across Asian countries and to what degree do they influence a country’s role in international relations? How are international disputes and conflicts solved?” I have designed earlier parts of the unit to help kids begin learning about what an economy is, its relationship to resources, and the difference between economic growth and economic development. I have also planned the end of this unit which teaches students about the South China Sea conflict, however I felt like something was missing. Teaching about China’s Belt & Road Initiative will fill in the gap and help students understand that China is attempting to control routes on land and sea in the region. Giving students an insight into both the BRI and island building in the South China Sea will help students identify the resources China seeks to control, determine which foreign countries are supporting their initiatives and thus serve as allies (pressured or not), and study the ways this influences their trading partners and policies. I’m very excited we learned about the BRI and what the future of my unit could be!

[Deirdre Harris]

I agree with  you Taylor that the All Roads Lead... article was a very informative read, and an eye-opener to just how many different countries are involved in this, and how there are so many ways that people look at this BRI as both good and bad.  It's such a huge endeavor that President Xi has developed, and he has had to satisfy so many different voices while projecting transparancy, and how he's following "Green Practices" that I think it's grown into something almost "out of control."  You hear stories and articles from many of the countries involved where China is basically taking over the resources of these countries for their own benefit, or forcing workers to work 12-hour days with no medical support, to helping a struggling country and being seen as the underdog too.  It's hard to know what to believe and not believe, and what about the places we are not hearing about?  I am sure many people are afraid to speak up.  Who is telling their story?  Regardless, we as a world power, need to keep an eye on what is going on, and find a way to help this project succeed for everyone involved.  China is our equal, but clearly ahead of us in so many areas, thus the recent legislation I shared about a few days ago dealing with not having to depend on China hopefully by 2025.  It's a balancing act that we do have to teach our children, just like being diplomatic in solving problems at school, or within a family, etc...  But the New Silk Road is definitely breaking all records as the World's Largest Project that we've seen in years, and probably will see in our lifetimes.  Let's keep our eye on it.  

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