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Christine XuWhen it comes to China's labor markets, we talk not only about demand but also about supply. China now faces the dilemma of having a large labor force while lacking skilled workers and experienced professionals.
China is transitioning up the value chain from being the "world’s factory" for low-end products to high-end technology and services industries. That has led to a greater demand for labor with upgraded skills.
Data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security shows that skilled workers account for only about 19% of China's entire workforce, with highly skilled workers making up a mere 5%.
The growth of China's service industry has led to greater demand for professionals. The sector accounted for more than 50% of GDP for the first time last year. Service industries such as IT, software, accounting, and finance, are expected to grow and absorb a significant number of professionals in the future.On the labor supply side, one problem in China is that the skills of graduates often do not match the market demand. That's because the graduates often have unrealistic career expectations and are unprepared for the job market, which leads to a high turnover rate. To close skills gaps, the Chinese educational, vocational training, and certification systems must be reformed, and macroeconomic policies adjusted to better allocate labor market resources. The talent waste due to skill mismatches needs to be reduced. Enterprises should be encouraged to provide more on-the-job training, while better thought-out curricula with the government and private companies joining forces to ensure a good match are required at service level. At the macro level, better institutional design is needed to optimize policies pertaining to population and talent.
Sources:cctv/docplayer
Christine XuCurrently, China takes the second place in the number of millionaires worldwide after the United States. What makes this even more astonishing is how fast the number of Chinese millionaires is increasing. However, poverty is still pressing issue for China and one of the major concerns of the Chinese government.There are at least 300 million people still living under below the poverty line in china.
There is less than 1% total population of the Chinese super rich and powerful people in control 80 % - 90% of the social wealth. The gap between the rich and the poor are still in the further enlarge.
China's unbalanced regional development is also a very serious problem. In west of China the economy is far behind the east. China’s social security system and education system still have lots of problem. There are still many poor children enjoy less than the national compulsory education.
Although in the past three decades, China’s economy has made such greatest achievement, with economy developing so fast more and more social problems appeared. For example corruption constantly increased. Although Chinese President Xi Jinping and the communist party said anti-corruption, but if not fundamentally change China's political system, it is difficult to have the effectiveness.
Sources:quora
Christine XuFundamentally guanxi is about building a network of mutually beneficial relationships which can be used for personal and business purposes. In this sense, guanxi is not so much different than the importance of having a strong network when doing business in any country. However, in China, guanxi plays a far more important role than it does in the West. While in the other parts of the world, you may be able broker a deal just through formal business meetings; in China it is necessary to spend time getting to know your Chinese counterparts outside the boardroom during tea sessions and dinner banquets. In addition to the time commitment, the depth of relationships developed through guanxi can be much deeper than business relationships in the west.
While guanxi is an important part of doing business in China it is not the be-all and end-all of it. Having strong relationships alone will not ensure that you will be able to achieve your business goals in China. Your company will still need to have a strong overall business operation in order to be successful. You should also treat with skepticism those who claim that guanxi alone can enable your company to succeed in China. While these connections can help you open doors and find new opportunities, your company will still need all of the other components of your business to be strong if you want to grow in China.
Guanxi's importance in China has developed as a result of the cultural implications of the rule of law and the concept of face. For millennia, China has lacked a strong rule of law. Because the law has not often been able to provide the legal protections which it does in the west, Chinese people needed to develop another means of ensuring trust amongst themselves in personal and business matters. Maintaining face, or reputation, among people within one's own network is also an important characteristic of Chinese culture. Because of the importance of maintaining face, Chinese people will usually not take advantage of a person with whom they have guanxi. This is true because if they develop guanxi with them and they were to take advantage of them, all of the people in their network would know what they had done and they would lose face with this network. By losing face they would also lose the respect of others in the group and potentially lose their connection with their network. Therefore guanxi has become a means of building trust that law cannot always provide for Chinese people in personal and business matters.
In my class students are going to do research about Chinese Guanxi. Students will talk and share ideas about Ganxi, and they will make or find some examples as well.
Sources:businessinsider
Christine XuEvery September, the campuses of Peking and Tsinghua Universities (Chinese Harvard and. M.I.T) brim with eager new students, the winners of China’s cutthroat education system. These young men and women possess the outlook of cosmopolitan youth worldwide.
They are destined for bright futures: In a few decades, they will fill high-powered positions in government and become executives in state banks and multinational companies. But their ever-expanding career possibilities belie the increasingly narrow slice of society they represent.
On the other hand, the percentage of students at Peking University from rural origins, for example, has fallen to about 10 percent in the past decade, down from around 30 percent in the 1990s. An admissions officer at Tsinghua University said that the typical undergraduate was “someone who grew up in cities, whose parents are civil servants and teachers, go on family trips at least once a year, and have studied abroad in high school.”
A huge gap in educational opportunities between students from rural areas and those from cities in China is one of the main culprits. Some 60 million students in rural schools are “left-behind” children, cared for by their grandparents as their parents seek work in faraway cities. While many of their urban peers attend schools equipped with “state-of-the-art" facilities and well-trained teachers, rural students often huddle in decrepit school buildings and struggle to grasp advanced subjects such as English and chemistry amid a dearth of qualified instructors.
For migrant children who follow their parents to cities, the opportunity for a decent education is similarly limited. The “Hukou” system ties access to subsidized social services to one’s hometown. It denies rural children the right to enter urban public schools. Even an urban residency status doesn’t ensure educational equity among city dwellers. The quality of urban schools varies widely, and the competition to enter top schools has spawned rampant corruption. Parents fork out tens of thousands of dollars under the guise of “voluntary donations” to secure a slot for their children in elite schools. At top-ranked high schools charges can reach $130,000. Further advantage can be purchased by parents who can pay handsomely to hire teachers to offer extra tutoring to their children. This practice is discouraged by the authorities but widespread in reality.
In my class we are going to do research and talk and share ideas about Chinese education system. We are are going to compare Chinese and American education systems as well.
Sources:nytimes
Christine XuMore than 85% of young Chinese have been pushed by older family member to get married, but they are not rushing into marriage. China’s young adults are moving to the cities and making more money. They're pickier about their marriage prospects. Some of the Chinese parents said that young people these days don't pay very much attention to Chinese traditional values. Their views about marriage are becoming more Western.
Growing up with more diverse values than previous generations, Chinese young people born in the 1980s and 1990s see options beyond the linear life path leading up to the baby carriage. Many priorities work over partnership either willingly or with reluctance. Also, many marrying age people need to work more than 44 hours a week, which leaves them little time and energy to build relationships. Others are simply exploring alternative lifestyles – with or without a romantic partner. Cohabitation is increasingly commonplace. And thanks to affordable technology, casual sex is also easier to access than ever.
Although Chinese government launched the new child policy in 2015 allowing all couples to have a second child, the state didn’t take account of the change in welfare policies for families or employers. So the majority of career women said no to the offer out of fear of being further devalued on the job market.
I believe that a better way to enhance the lure of marriage could start with the underprivileged in Chinese society. That means giving the decision to marry or not back to young people; promoting family-friendly workplace policies; and finally, securing women’s rights.
Sources: bbc
Christine XuAir pollution creates pressure from the public on the government because it is visible every day, but underground water pollution is not visible in the cities, causing it to virtually be forgotten.
Half of China’s population cannot access water that is safe for human consumption and two-thirds of China’s rural population relies on tainted water. Water pollution in China is such a problem that there could be “catastrophic consequences for future generations,” according to the World Bank.
China’s water supply has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Pollution-induced algae blooms cause the surface of China’s lakes to turn a bright green, but greater problems may lurk beneath the surface; groundwater in 90 percent of China’s cities is contaminated.China’s coastal manufacturing belt faces the most pollution. Despite the closure of thousands of pollutant sources, a third of the waterway remains well below the government’s modest standards for water quality. Most of China’s rural areas lack a system to treat wastewater.Water pollution in China has doubled from what the government originally predicted because the impact of agricultural waste was ignored. Farm fertilizer has largely contributed to water contamination. China’s water sources contain toxic of levels of arsenic, fluorine and sulfates, and pollution has been linked to China’s high rates of liver, stomach and esophageal cancer. Factories are able to freely discharge their wastewater into lakes and rivers due to poor environmental regulations, weak enforcement and local corruption. Rural villages located near factory complexes rely on the contaminated water for drinking, washing and cooking. These villages have become known as “cancer villages” because of their high rates of cancer and death.
What can the Chinese government and the people do to combat water pollution would be a good topic in my classroom.
Sources: borgenproject
Christine XuOver this past 5 weeks seminar learning about the contemporary china I have learned a lot about the Chinese history and cultures from this educational journey and I got many ideas for my own teaching.
The readings from the seminar are very-thought provoking, and the writings of reflection on what we read and talked make me think deeply about how I can use them into my own teaching.
I teach Mandarin, and I plan to use the knowledge I learned into my classes to make my lessons be more interesting. I believe teaching Chinese culture and history can help my students understand China and Chinese culture better in order to learn the language better. For example, I will talk about soil pollution, Filial Piety, Global views about china, Beijing Opera, Chinese characters, etc. In my class we will watch videos, and students will do research about the topics as well. They will talk and share ideas in peers and small groups to reflect their understanding. Doing this could help my students view China and Chinese culture from different point of view.
Also, I learned that watching a film is a good idea to teach the language and the culture. Students will be able to hear the authentic language from the film. By listening to the music and seeing the visuals students can learn different Chinese lives at the time. From viewing the scenes, they will be able to see the Chinese architectures, communities, Chinese martial art, etc. Then they can use scenes analysis framework to explore why the director chose the setting, camera angles, lighting, and music and what choices do they create the scene’s tone. Additional, students will reflect on the scene individually and in groups, and they will create their own scene and present it to the rest of the class.
I have valued the personable exchanges of thoughts from the online forum posting during the seminar. I appreciate and want to say thank you to the people who are involved. Thank you to our professor and teachers, without your hard work, we wont have this opportunity to learn contemporary china and history which it is beneficial to our students.
Christine XuThere are at least 3 reasons for Chinese investment in Africa: fuel for a growing economy, political motivations, and good business sense.
China has boosted African oil and mining sectors in exchange for advantageous trade deals. Chinese companies are also diversifying their business pursuits in Africa, in infrastructure, manufacturing, telecommunications, and agricultural sectors. However, China’s activity in Africa has faced criticism from Western and African civil society over its controversial business practices, as well as its failure to promote good governance and human rights. Although a number of African governments appear to be content with China’s policy, Beijing’s complex relationship with the continent has challenged its policy of noninterference in the affairs of African governments.
Chinese investment in Africa has helped increase economic growth. However, China’s economic slowdown and the drop in commodity prices have squeezed growth rates. While GDP in sub-Saharan Africa grew by 5 percent in 2011, growth was set to drop to its lowest level in more than twenty years at 1.4 percent in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook.
Some analysts say China’s activities in Africa—from building infrastructure to providing medical support—are goodwill for later investment opportunities or an effort to stockpile international support for contentious political issues. Experts from College of William & Mary, found a link between Chinese assistance and the alignment of recipient countries with Beijing’s UN voting and its One China principle. Accusations of exploitative behavior by China in Africa have prompted questions about the future of the relationship. However, experts suggest that while China’s economic footprint in Africa is growing, it represents only a fraction of China’s economic activity around the world.
Sources: cfr.org
Christine XuThe chart shows that a median of 66% across 25 countries say the Chinese government does not respect the personal freedoms of its people.
Sources: wiki
Christine XuAccording to the article there is general lack of confidence in Chinese president Xin Jinping to do the right thing regarding world affairs. The chart shows that West/ European and many other counties show less conference in Xi Jingping.
According to the Washington Post a decade ago the United States and other Western leaders were urging China to become a global “ stakeholder.” But Mr. Xi does not loo like the cooperative partner. Instead, he having concentrated power in his own hands, now seeks to reinforce the authority of the Communist Party in all areas of life, at the expense of the rule of law, political dissent, private enterprise and even privacy itself. For example, a new system of social monitoring will minutely record and rate the activities of every citizen, while storing their facial images for easy recognition.
He touted his BRI project to pour hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investments into countries across Asia, Africa, and middle east. However, there are worries and fears in these countries about this project regarding high risk of debt, irreversible environmental damage, and human rights or corruption problems.
Mr. Xi wants to strengthen his personal power. Analysts suspect his neo-totalitarian ideology will be written into the party's constitution, putting him on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. They will watch to see whether a successor is positioned to replace him after a second five-year term, or whether Mr. Xi will entrench himself in the style of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sources: Washingtonpost
Christine XuAccording to the article, The BRI seems “Xi’s century project”. This huge infrastructure project is a Chinese effort to improve transportation and increase trade across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the middle East. The idea is welcomed. China is going to invest trillions of dollars on roads, railways, ports and power stations in the countries. China’s money and expertise could be a big help in spreading wealth and prosperity.
On the other hand, there are worries and fears. First, the people in these countries are very worried about the level of debt that these countries are taking on in regard to China. According to a Washington D. C. -based report, the Center for Global Development says 23 of the 68 countries where China is investing for the BRI projects are at high risk of debt problems. Another eight, including Djibouti, may have debt problems linked to future projects, although China argues that its investments are aimed at increasing trade and helping developing countries. Also, environmental experts warn that many of these projects could cause irreversible damage in highly biodiverse areas. According to a major World Bank analysis of nearly 3000 projects, Chinese foreign investors and companies often predominate in poorer nations with weak environmental regulations and controls. This makes those nations prime “pollution havens” for China and Chinese enterprises, as the latter wouldn’t take any blame for environmental damage caused by there activities in the host countries. In addition, some experts said that BRI as also a way of buying long-term political influence across the globe. And that local politicians may benefit more than their people. Also, there are maybe problems and questions about human rights or corruption.
Christine XuFilial piety, ( Xiao) is China’s most important moral and entails a strong loyalty and deference to one's parents. Because the family is the building block of society, this hierarchical system of respect is by extension applied to one's country. Meaning the same devotion and selflessness in serving one's family should also be used when serving one's country. Thus, filial piety is an important value when it comes to treating one's immediate family, elders and superiors in general, and the state at large. Filial piety is a general attitude of offering love, respect, support, and deference to one's parents and other elders in the family, such as grandparents or older siblings. Acts of filial piety include obeying parent's wishes, taking care of them when they are old, and working hard in order to provide material comforts to parents, like food, or money.
By looking at the Chinese character for filial piety, you learn a lot about the term's definition. Filial piety is illustrated by the Chinese character xiao (孝). The character is a combination of the characters lao (老), which means old, and er zi (儿子 ), which means son. The character that represents lao is the top half of the character xiao, whereas the character that represents son forms the bottom half of the character.
This placement is symbolic and very telling of what filial piety means. The character xiao shows that the older person or generation is being supported or carried by the son, or children in general.
In my class we will learn Chinese character xiao (孝), and we will talk and discuss about Chinese value as well.
Sources: ThoughtCo
Christine XuAccording to Xinhua, China's top legislature passed a law on soil pollution prevention and control. The new law filled the legal void on soil protection and will go into effect on January 1, 2019. National standards for soil pollution risk control will be set by the environmental authority of the State Council based on soil contamination status, public health risks and ecological risks, among others, according to the law. The law also states that a nationwide soil condition census should be conducted at least once every 10 years. Environmental and health authorities of the State Council are required to conduct screening and evaluation of toxic and harmful substances in the soil and make public a list of them. Also, the law mentioned that the central and provincial-level governments should establish funds to prevent and control soil pollution. The new law has strengthened the responsibilities of governments and polluters in controlling and correcting soil pollution. Farmland polluters are required to make rehabilitation plans, put them on government record, and carry out the plans. Upon completion, polluters should entrust professional institutions to evaluate the effects and report the results to local governments.The legislation on soil protection is of great significance, and has provided a legal guarantee for the country's fight for clean soil according to officials of the office for Administrative Law of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee. This law is the first dedicated law on soil protection Xinhua said.
Sources: Xinhua
Christine XuChina’s water diversion project starts for flow to Beijing. The first phase-the total length of central line is 1467 kilometers. 9.5 billion cubic meters of water is sent northward annually. The second phase will reach 14 billion cubic meters. The central route starts from Dangjinagkou. The 80 million project may relief to the parched north, but at what cost to the drought-ridden south and its displaced farmers?
Pro: the government believes that it is the good solution. Water from the south will great boost supply. It will alleviate Beijing’s shortage.
Con: people had to move ( no choice). It is not the final solution.
It destroyed many peoples normal life. About 345,000 villagers have been displaced by the project to date. The local people are less happy.
Also, The water diversion project has also drawn criticism from an ecological point of view. The locals near the lower stretch of the Han are worried far-away Beijing will take away too much water from the river. However, nobody dares say this out loud. According to some experts,experts, in summer it will be difficult to water the crops. There will be less water for industry. The shipping and fish sectors will suffer. And moreover, as the water’s self-cleaning capacities dwindle, there will be more pollution.
Sources: dw.com
Christine XuIn China there are 5 registered/ allowed religious organizations and some other unregistered religious groups. Chinese government monitors both of the groups to prevent activities that “disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the State,” as stipulated by the Chinese constitution. In practice, however, monitoring and crackdowns often target peaceful activities that are protected under international law, according to some human rights watchdogs. “Religious groups have been swept up in a broader tightening of CCP control over civil society and an increasingly anti-Western ideological bent under Xi Jinping,” writes Freedom House. China is home to one of the largest populations of religious prisoners, likely numbering in the tens of thousands, while in custody, some are tortured or killed, according to human rights groups. Instances of arbitrary detentions and violence carried out with impunity have led the U.S. State Department to designate China as a country of particular concern over religious freedom annually since 1999.
In my class we are going to compare western religious groups to the Chinese ones. Students will discuss and share about their views and opinions. They are going to talk about the similarities and differences.
Sources: cfr.org
