Reading many of these posts has been a both heartening and dismaying experience. Heartening because everyone is rightly appalled by the conditions in China, and most everyone has seen the connection between the cheap products we enjoy in the West and those same horrible conditions. It is appalling because so many seem to see the Chinese state as some weak third world government that is incapable of taking responsibility for its own mess. That is the subtext of the post in which someone asserts that the West should give away its expensive and hard earned environmentally friendly technology to China. Ditto if you believe that anyone other than the Chinese should pay for the cleanup.

Here are some relevant numbers:
1) In 2009 the US had a $226.8 Billion trade deficit with China: US exported only $69.6 billion to China, China exported $296.4 Billion to US.
2) At the end of 2009 China had $2.4 Trillion in foreign currency reserves. Of that amount $895 Billion was US Treasuries.

From these numbers we see that China has plenty money to clean up its environment, but has chosen not to. The West has zero responsibility for that decision. China is a big boy country now – has been for years. It sits at the grown up table at all the important world events. So do not make the mistake of treating them like a Sub-Sahara African basket case. It smacks of progressive condescending racism, “They aren’t white so they must be oppressed and helpless.”

Furthermore, one reason for the incredible trade deficit is that companies manufacturing in China do not have to price into their cheap products the costs of environmental protection and cleanup. If manufacturers in China has to price into their products costs of environmental taxes and regulations their product would go from being impossible to compete against to only highly improbable to compete with. In addition to making for a cleaner environment and a better life for its people, more realistic pricing along with purchases of Western environmental machinery would help rebalance China’s unsustainable trade differentials with the rest of the World. China seemingly has not yet figured out that a sustainable trade balance is in its long term interests; it will make more money and the money it makes will be worth more.

A reading test. Did you catch my apparent contradiction? In the first paragraph I wrote that only the Chinese should have to pay for the cleanup, but in the fourth paragraph I wrote that China should price the environmental costs into the products they sell us. Of course you let that slide because you saw the obvious distinction. On the one hand China would sell us incredibly cheap baubles, and after we paid for them and used them China comes back and asks for more money. That would be dishonest, actionable, and even criminal salesmanship. On the other hand China tells us up front the cost of their products. That would be honest, the environment would be cleaner, and the World’s economy would be healthier.

Cheers,
Deaderjack.

I have, and it’s full of people intrinsically the same as Americans Canadians etc, I agree with a crazy leader and politics, but the people are great, intelligent well educated enlightened. mostly they just want the wets to leave them alone so they can go about their lives the way they want to. they eat well, they have vibrant communities with fantastic arts and cultures, their life isn’t all that bad actually!

I would say ignorance is a big part of all the problems the world faces now in China and everywhere else!