China Expat is a cultural and literary forum for expatriates interested in China and has been published by Asia Briefing Ltd since 2001. The sites resident China culture writers have included such expatriate luminaries as 
Is China the Next Japan?
For years economists have wondered whether the inevitable rising power of China was similar to Japan in the 1980s. If you remember (and that requires you to be over 22), people used to think that Japan was an unstoppable beast destined to take over the world. Movies and popular media frequently made reference to this, of in now-comical ways.
Among some of the most notable examples of this frenzy were Gung Ho (Ron Howard’s film), the scene in Back to the Future II when old Marty is talking to his Japanese bosses, and the hilariously out of date Rising Sun, which was a Michael Crichton book, turned into a movie only after Japan’s downfall had already become clear. The popular theory was that Japanese people were more dedicated to their work, and willing to put in longer hours than people in the West. This gap in work ethic meant that Japan was an unstoppable force in the global economy, and that we would all soon be working as mannies in Tokyo.
As it turned out, Japan was able to maintain its place as a superpower economically, but it is hardly hegemonic the way that people expected. People in the West were not quite as lazy as we thought (shout out to the French 35-hour work week. Way to continue to promote the theory!) Japan does not own the US or Europe. On the contrary, they are still digging themselves out of a decade-long recession that actually saw deflation, something rarely seen since the Great Depression.
Experts will generally tell you that China is a completely different situation. The common argument is that the sheer population size of the country makes it an inevitable economic power. However, it seems like this point, in isolation, falls flat, otherwise China surely would have become an economic titan years ago.
The second point is that the driving force is not only population. Rather the (relatively) newly open economy has helped shed the chains of communism that previously held the country back. In combination, these two factors are propelling China ahead of the pack.
Yet for all of the rhetoric that China is the heir apparent to economic hegemony, there has been no shortage of reporting on the problems with its current policies. Most notably poor safety regulation, IP piracy (which hinders innovation), and the developing environmental disaster, all serve to set back the recent economic push. These factors should be tamping down on what some might label irrational exuberance.
Perhaps even more compelling is lack of underlying logic to why China will dominate the global economy (whereas there was a case with Japan, even thought the theory proved flawed). While there are Chinese entrepreneurs who have shown a knack for innovation and even brilliance, the greater work force shows more remnants of communistic tendencies than signs of a dynamic work ethic.
China backers will make the case that Japan’s unprecedented rise was based largely on an illusion, namely the absurdly inflated property prices that created vast amounts of paper money and spurred poor investment decisions. When this bubble burst it brought reality to the markets, and made Japan’s place as a strong, but not dominant economic player, all the more apparent.
It should be pointed out that China also shows signs of major flaws in its economy. Many have argued that there is a property bubble, although not on the scale of Japan in the 1980s. It has rampant corruption, fueling both the property problem as well as the massive amounts of NPLs (non-performing loans) that continue to raise red flags in the banking industry. And finally China’s economic system is not developed enough to reign in economic growth to curb inflation. Interest rates are essentially irrelevant when loans are not made on economic criteria.
None of this is to say that China will not become a major player in the world economy. Clearly it already has and there is no reason to believe that even a precipitous collapse, something that seems unlikely, would be so devastating the country could not recover. South Korea, for example, is in a strong position only ten years after an unmitigated disaster.
The question is not about whether China will be a power, it is about if the country will become an economic hegemon.
If you like Daily Tea Leaves you might also like Josh’s personal blog Cup of Cha.
Related posts:
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Is the China become Japan? Cannot belive it,
As far as I know, there are huge difference between both, It is hard for China to become Japan in the ecomony. Also, I am sure that Japanese are the most active people in the world and they too introduce many technical things to the world.
Cheers,
Nancy,
rome apartments
China will not be the next Japan, look like the next Japan, nor any other Asian country. It will appear as the United States through a Communist, Leninist, lens and it will dominate resources, issues, large strategic regions and it will both placate and frustrate Washington D.C.
Funny how the link to the NPL is an article back in 2004, which is like 9 China years ago.
Welcome to 2007, where major Chinese banks are posting record profit. Bad loans cut down and others performing well.
Problem might persist but it has ceased to be one of those “coming collapse of China” doomsday scenarios. Give it another two year the whole NPL issue would be wholly relegated to the history books.
Wait until the Chinese workforce turns upside down. The US is headed there now as the baby boomers retire. How will the state respond to the strain of hundred of millions of elderly?
How does IP piracy hinder innovation?
To answer the question about how IP piracy hinders innovation, think about what the incentive for coming up with a ne technology would be if there was no pay off. If anyone can re-create your ideas, why should you continue to innovate?
No, Japanese people have manners.
I think that China is a rising star also. This country will prove a lot in the future, and improve as well. Someday China will be a world leader and then it will be great, because there work field is the biggest in the world.
Good article, thanks
The actual gap between Japan and the rest of industrialized world is not that large because Japanese statistics also include data on simple manipulators that are controlled by mechanical stops and these machines would not pass a stricter definition of industrial robots used in the US and the EU.
It seems as if, no matter how many of his players leave because of free agency or being cut or traded because of bad conduct or selfish attitude, his system continues to produce winning results – regardless of the number of new players being plugged into the system.
Good article, thanks
China will have to because the country will not have the Japanese option: those two countries import most of their food in exchange for high value-added industrial products. China could certainly produce enough manufactures to buy most of its food –- but that amount of grain and meat is simply not available on the global market.
Indeed the incredible growth in China has gone on so far for 15 years, so shouldn’t it slow?
I for one have no objections to buying things from China as long as we have the opportunity to sell as many products to them Water Damage
yeah i completely agree with your article sir..
complete china is depending on marketing ..
regards,
alarm kits
What goes up must come down.
A very informative and well pesented helpful blog. The information was presented in an excellent manner that a inexperienced
person on the topic can understand it with ease.
Enjoyed reading it and the tips were great and truely helpful.
Keep it up.
Blog bookmarked and emailed to some friends.
I guess China will not going to achieved what Japan did. Even if the working force in China is big and they can produce really quick and large volume, but the quality of their product are not good. Unlike Japan their products are really in great quality.
http://lasiksurgeryrx.com/>lasik information
Its not bad if China become the next Japan, as long as the government take care of its people.
http://lasiksurgeryrx.com/>lasik