China Case Study Flashcards
explain china’s investments in infrastructure
China has invested heavily in its infrastructure:
• It has the world’s longest highway network
• Its rail systems links ALL provinces and cities
• Its HRS has doubled in length in 10 years linking its major cities
• Shanghai’s Maglev is the fastest commercial train (268mph) taking 8mins from the CBD to the airport
• 82 airports have been built since 2000 (now 250 in total). 8 of the world’s top 12 airports by freight tonnage
explain the reductions in poverty that china has seen
- 300 million Chinese people are now considered to be middle class (pop of the USA!)
- Sales of consumer items have sharply risen – they buy more TVs and Laptops than Americans
- Between 1981 and 2010 the number of people living in poverty reduced by 680 million
- Extreme poverty has reduced from 84% in 1980 to 10% in 2016
- Remittance payments have decreased rural poverty .
explain the better education and training that China has encountered
- Education is free and compulsory in China
- 94% of Chinese over 15 are literate compared to 20% in 1950
- In 2014 7.2 million Chinese graduated from university – 15 times higher than in 2000.
- THIS WAS A PLAN BY THE GOVERNMENT – CREATE AN EDUCATED AND INNOVATIVE WORKFORCE!
- Spending still varies between rural areas (£2200 to £300)
explain the loss of biodiversity in china
• A 2015 survey carried out by the WWF found that China’s vertebrates had declined by 50%.
• The UN has identified the Yellow Sea and South China sea as the most degraded marine areas on earth.
• 36% of forests are facing pressure from urban expansion
- 60% of biodiversity in china has been lost since 1972
explain the increase in urban incomes in china
- Economic growth and slow population growth has led to urban incomes rising as pay has increased.
- Urban incomes have increased by 10% a year since 2005.
- In 2014 the average urban income had risen to $9000 a year.
- The urban workers also receive good terms and conditions – 40hour working week, overtime payments and paid holidays
- There is a big and growing urban / rural divide.
explain the increase in unplanned settlements in china
• Rapid industrialisation and then urbanisation has created a need for more housing resulting in an increase in informal homes.
• An increase in land process has made affordable housing hard to find. As a result two types of illegal housing are now common:
o Expanded housing in villages close to the edge of cities. Villagers add an extra storey to their house and rent it to migrant workers
o Farmland is privately developed for housing without permission
explain land degradation in china
- Over 40% of China’s farmland is now suffering from degradation.
- Industrial emissions are creating acidic soils in the south.
- Land clearance for industry has led to deforestation.
- Over-intensive grazing has created degradation and then desertification
explain the over-exploitation of resources and resource pressure in china
• China has coal, oil and metals such as iron ore but not enough.
• Supply cannot keep up with demand so the Chinese government are having to seek additional resources
o Amazon rainforest cleared for soy production
o Venezuela is being exploited for oil
o Coltan mining in Congo
• This search for additional resources is creating widespread environmental degradation
explain the pollution and health problems encountered in china
- China’s air pollution caused mainly by coal power stations is so bad that many cities have regular pollution alerts
- 70% of China’s rivers and lakes are now polluted. 207 tributaries from the Yangtze are so polluted they cannot be used for irrigation let alone to drink.
- 100 cities suffer from extreme water shortages and 360 million people don’t have access to clean water. Tap water in some areas has 80 out of the 101 forbidden toxins under Chinese law.
- A third of the Chinese population breathes in air that would be considered unhealthy by US or European standards, the outdoor air pollution that china is exposed to has led to just under 300,000 deaths, 20 million cases of respiratory illness and therefore a health cost of around 3% of GDP annually
explain the loss of productive farmland in china
- China’s rapid industrialisation has led to an increasing loss of farmland
- Most farmland is lost due to pollution. 3 million hectares (the size of Belgium) has been polluted by heavy metal.
- Farmland close to rivers has been taken out of action due to the risk of pollution from fertilisers and pesticides
- Rapid urbanisation has created a loss of farm workers which has decreased production
- Overproduction in some areas (Loess plateau) has created desertification and a further loss of productive land.
- Rural farmers are 40% more likely to suffer from liver cancer due to their exposure to heavily polluted land and water.
extra info on china’s infrastructure investments
- China is expected to spend another $19bn USD on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau brindle which is already 19 miles long, it follows and crosses the Pearl River Estuary, with two artificial islands and submarine tunnels to allow travel underneath the busy shipping route
- China spends more on economic infrastructure annually than North America and Western Europe combined, with an infrastructure spending of $28tn USD predicted for 2040 they show no sign of slowing down
- Studies show that this investment is not wise however and is generating more problems than it is trying to solve, on average there has been a 31% overspend on these infrastructure projects (Saïd Business School)
- Many of the projects have been in vain as there have been major traffic shortfalls after completion, of up to 40%
extra info on the loss of biodiversity in china
- 60% of biodiversity in China has been lost since 1972
- Socioeconomic development in China has led to an uncontrollable urban sprawl which is eating through china’s dive rest forests, especially on the East coast
- In 2011 alone 2140 of species listed in the CITES index were in danger of extinction
- 90% of china’s grasslands and 40% of its wetlands have sustained significant deterioration and the area of undisturbed primary forest has decreased by 50,000km sq. annually
- Estimated economic losses caused by environmental damage range between 4.5-18% of GDP
extra info on pollution and health problems in china
- The pollution occurring in China has had detrimental effects on child development, including reduced foetal and child growth and developmental impairment. A study by the health effects institute found that unhealthy levels of pollution led to roughly 852,000 premature deaths in China in 2017.
- One of the positive action’s china has undertaken in fight against the pollution and health problems is through the banning the selling of leaded gasoline in 2000. Since then, studies are shown that children’s blood levels have decreased significantly, especially in younger children who have had less exposure to atmospheric lead.
- The government only spend 5.5% of their GDP (as of 2014) on health, thus limiting the progression in improving the effectiveness of their aims to improve health
- Much of China’s growth has been powered by coal due to the very low cost however it is highly polluting, with coal still accounting for 59% of china’s energy consumption in 2017
- Beijing’s air pollution is often exacerbated due to weather patterns, topography and the proximity to polluting industries. To the south and east of Beijing is a large concentration of coal-burning industries. Pollutants from factories in these areas are often carried by winds into Beijing and trapped there by mountains in the city’s north and west.
- According to a 2015 report by RAND, health problems and lost labour productivity due to air pollution reached 6.5% of China’s GDP per year between 2000 and 2010.
- A 2018 study from the Chinese university of Hong Kong estimates that the equivalent of $38 billion of revenue is lost yearly due to early deaths and lost food production as a result of air pollution.
extra info on reductions in poverty in china
- Over the past 40 years the number of people in China living below the international poverty line has dropped by more than 850 million
- China created employment opportunities for 2.59 million people in china and established more than 30,000 poverty alleviation workshops, helping 770,000 registered impoverished people get employed in areas close to their home.
- China plans to eliminate absolute poverty by 2020.
- China has contributed to over 70% of the poverty reduced across the world, making itself a country with the most people lifted out of poverty in the world.
extra info on the increase in urban incomes in china
- From 2000 to 2018, disposable income per capita in China increased by around 600% for urban and rural households alike
- In 2018, the annual per capita disposable income of rural households in china was around a third of the income of urban households
- Wage growth for high-skilled workers has slowed from a peak of 20.3% in 2007 to 8.6% in 2014
- China now has more billionaires than in the US, producing 568 compared to the US’ 535
- The number of high net-worth individuals has also risen, doubling between 2010 and 2014, according to a report from Bain and Company
