China The Next "Super-Power", For Quality of Living?

Many refer to China as the next superpower taking the place that the United States has held for more than a century. Currently, the United States has a GDP in the  range of $15 trillion while China is around $8 trillion. That being said, China is reporting upwards of 5-10% of economic growth in some areas, while the US remains around 1-2% [1]. Despite this, China has about 4 times more people with a population of around 1.3 billion people [1]. So yes, very soon China will have a higher GDP and essentially “larger economy” than the US.

However, as people speak so highly of China, I am stuck thinking about some of the countries massive hurdles. While many enclaves have high-end development and business sectors, the vast majority of people do not have access to clean water or habitable living quarters. Even in major cities like Beijing, many live in make shift shantytowns and bathe in sewage filled rivers. It is well known that being raised in these waters is the only way to prevent getting terribly sick by swimming in them.

So why does China being the new superpower matter? As a citizen, I would much rather live in an area with more wealth per capita than a poorer one. Examples include countries like Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland where per capita incomes surpass $60,000 per year. I have been to Switzerland and it had the cleanest and most well built cities I had ever seen. The United States currently ranks 7^th in GDP per capita at $49,000 per year, while China ranks 91^st at $9,000 per year [1]. That being said, the education system and job market of China is still very much skewed towards the upper class. Middle to lower class citizens in China have almost no opportunity of success like the citizens in the US have, and this will probably not change greatly in the next 50 years. Education is obtained through expensive private schools and higher paying jobs are reserved for the males of elite families.  

Moving forward, China will be a bigger entity than the United States and may have greater overall buying power as a nation. However, with China’s current culture and method of government it will be almost impossible for the country to surpass the quality of life many people have the opportunity to enjoy in the US and other similar countries. Furthermore, China’s dip into capitalism has already raised problems, as they have had a real estate boom that left numerous “ghost cities” with thousands of high-rise office buildings and condominiums completely empty, and more volatile markets and criminal business practices that have scared investors of all types. While China may seem like the next big thing, I don’t believe people will be flocking to live there any time soon because of greatly unbalanced living conditions, horrendously bad pollution, and non-existent enforcement of unethical business practices.

[1] World Bank. Web. <worlbank.org>

[2] USC US-China Institute. Web. <China.usc.edu>