People's Republic of China

Chinese Miracle

China at the Center of History Performs Again:

Despite the staggering global impact of China, which plays an important role on the world stage, especially in the field of economy and foreign trade, many of us find it unnecessary to pay close attention to the extraordinary history of this vast and complex country. However, it is almost impossible to fully understand today's China without looking at its rich past full of superhuman effort and unimaginable inventions.

I think it is necessary to examine the current state of the People's Republic of China, which is the eternal neighbor of the Turks, whether we want it or not, and how it came to this situation over time.

The People's Republic of China is a country that has succeeded in transforming into one of the world's largest economic powers. As a result of the transformation experienced in the country, wealth has increased in unprecedented proportions and inequality throughout the country has deepened.

China According to the Chinese History Book:

The author of one of the sources for the State of China, which is an integral part of our history and culture, is John Keay. In his book, The History of China, Keay brings the reader the striking and intoxicating story of China's extraordinary past that has never been told. In his book, he tells the compelling and interesting story of the world's largest and least understood Chinese nation, from Confucius to Mao, from the myth-born dynasties to the revolution and the roar of today's deceitful capitalism. This story, enriched with the latest researches and anecdotes covering every region of China, from the big city centers to the most remote places, covers a three thousand years of Chinese History.

According to Economist Chris Leung, China:

Chinese economics expert Chris Leung emphasized that when the Communist Party came to power in China, widespread poverty prevailed throughout the country. China had neither trading partners nor diplomatic relations; He talks about ancient China as a country trying to be self-sufficient.

Mao Period:

The leader of the Chinese Revolution, Mao Zedong, tried to rapidly industrialize the country's peasant economy with the economic and social campaign he started under the name of the Great Leap Forward. However, this attempt was not successful and resulted in the deaths of millions of people between 1959-61. There are those who say 10 million for the total number of the dead, and 40 million. It was one of the biggest starvation deaths in human history. The Cultural Revolution initiated by Mao in 1966, on the other hand, aimed to purge the Communist Party from capitalist and traditional elements, but caused destruction in the social fabric of the country.

China Begins Development with Deng Xiaoping:

After Mao's death in 1976, the country's economy began to reshape with the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Giving peasants the right to cultivate their own fields has led to higher living standards and reduced food shortages in China. With the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the USA and China in 1979, the country opened its doors to foreign investments. Due to the advantages of cheap labor and low rental costs, investors started to pour money into China, which started a very rapid development process in the country.

China Becomes the Workshop of the World:

"Since the late 1970s, we have witnessed the greatest economic miracle in history," says David Mann, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank. Since the 1990s, China has achieved a faster growth momentum. The country's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 gave a new impetus to the Chinese economy. With the removal of barriers to trade with other countries and the reduction of customs tariffs, Chinese goods began to appear everywhere. Mann expresses this situation as “China has become the workshop of the world”.

According to economy writers and analysts, while China's exports had a share of 10 billion dollars in world trade and 1 percent in 1978, this amount reached 25 billion dollars in 1985 and 4.3 trillion dollars 20 years later. Thus, these high export figures have placed China at the center of the world's commercial life. The economic reforms carried out in the country have led to an increase in the income of hundreds of millions of Chinese, and have increased the welfare of the country, albeit to a certain extent. According to World Bank data, the Chinese miracle helped 850 million people in the country get out of poverty. Meanwhile, China is expected to achieve its goal of eradicating absolute poverty completely by 2024.

The level of education in the country has also increased rapidly. According to Standard Chartered, by 2030, 27 percent of the workforce in China is expected to have a university education. Thus, China will reach the current level of Germany in this category.

Income Inequality and Deepening Inequality:

However, the fruits of economic success in China have not yet been shared equally among the population of 1.3 billion. Income inequality remains high. On the one hand, there are the wealthy people and an expanding middle class, on the other hand there are many poor peasants, an unskilled and aging workforce. Inequality in the country, especially between rural and urban segments, has gradually deepened. According to Mann, the economy in China has not progressed as a whole. A large gap has emerged between the different sectors. The World Bank states that the per capita income in China is still at the level of developing countries, which corresponds to a quarter of the developed countries average. Today, while the average annual income per capita in the USA is 62 thousand dollars, this figure can only be realized at the level of 10 thousand dollars in China. With the measures it has taken for years, the country strives to shift from export-related growth to consumption-based growth.

Turks and Chinese Relationship:

The decrease in worldwide demand and the trade wars with the USA have caused new problems for China. The aging population, on the other hand, does not seem very promising for the future of the country's economy. Today, although the growth rate has decreased to 5-6 percent in the country, China is still the world's largest power in the growth category. Mann emphasizes that even at this rate, China has a 35 percent share in the world's economic growth. This rate corresponds to 3 times the share of the USA. With the project, also known as the "New Silk Road (One Belt One Road)," Beijing administration aims to connect almost half of the world's population and countries that make up one fifth of the world's national income, and to establish trade and investment links around the world.

The Modern Silk Road project is also supported by Turkey.

Except for China, Ottoman and Seljuk States, it is the name of the country where the written records of the Turks' emergence on the world stage are kept, archives and storage are made since Mete Han. The hostility of the Chinese towards the Turks is something that has been going on since time immemorial. But here, of course, there is no intention or purpose to open old notebooks and alienate or denigrate China.

I would like to end my article with an anecdote about Genghis Khan. One of Cengiz's advisors says to Cengiz; The valiant Cengiz says why do you keep people who are hostile to you and who can harm you when necessary. Cengiz's response would be: "I keep my enemies with me so that I can see what they are doing and hear what they are talking about."

Here, we will know our enemies well and we will cooperate well without letting them out of our sight. But we will always be prepared for whatever evil they may do.