Everything on China

As the global economy continues to plummet, the favorite to pull the rest of us out of this recession is China. Having changed its overall economic structure, China has emerged as the greatest economic power since the United States' era before 2008. I find it extremely frightening that if one bad move by China were to occur, the global economy could be set into a tailspin. The biggest problem that China is currently struggling with is inflation.

“The money supply is too large,” said Andy Xie, an economist based in Shanghai who formerly worked at Morgan Stanley. “They increased the money supply to stimulate the economy. Now land prices have jumped 20 times in some places, 100 times in others. Inflation is broad-based. Go into a supermarket. Milk is more expensive in China than it is in the U.S.”

If China risks inflation, then their changes in currency will greatly affect trading and finance all across the board. Rather than looking at China as a competitor, countries must see them as a foundation from where supporters can enhance their own prosperity. My personal opinion is that complete responsibility on one nation's economy is incredibly unstable, but only so much can be moderated. As seen in the article, China reached their height because of their government influence on the market. All that is certain is that the next move could decide how the economy will either heal or tear itself apart.

America is Left in China's Wake

Since China's rise to power, it has gained substantial, economic prowess in the eyes of the rest of the world. After several advances through technology, aided by the government, China has bested America's supercomputer. This may seem like a small drop in the bucket for everyday people, but we forget to see the contributions that supercomputers make to our current society. 

The race to build the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems critical to national interests in areas like defense, energy, finance and science. Supercomputing technology also finds its way into mainstream business; oil and gas companies use it to find reservoirs and Wall Street traders use it for superquick automated trades. Procter & Gamble even uses supercomputers to make sure that Pringles go into cans without breaking.

Evident in those examples, the world in its present state could not function without the use of supercomputers. A month prior to this achievement, China had become the top manufacturer for green technology, but people are seeing now that it was only a precursor for what is to come.

“What is scary about this is that the U.S. dominance in high-performance computing is at risk,” said Wu-chun Feng, a supercomputing expert and professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. “One could argue that this hits the foundation of our economic future.”

 So what is next in store for America? Will we pool our resources to finance a better future? America cannot reach a state of complacency, simply because of China's shadow, but rather, be encouraged by the competition that China supplies.

China Buys Back IPhones...Illegally?

China has come a long way economically in the past couple decades. Being the top manufacturer of Apple's newest IPhone, China ships the products to be sold in the United States. The American way of life is the carrot in front of the rising, Chinese middle-class, and they want more, even if that involves some smuggling. Through closed-container shipping and airline manipulation, the spread of blackmarket sales is imminent. 

“These trading networks have been around for a long time,” Professor Wei said. “They have recently become a lot more pervasive due to rising incomes in China — partially as a result of exports to the U.S.”

 The trail leads back to economical advantage, and China is ready to sink its teeth. If Apple sold the phones much more expensive there, they would probably make a larger profit than they will on Saturday, because the middle men are taking the cut. This surge in demand can be used for the U.S. benefit.

“It’s all about connections and channels,” said one seller at the Sleepless Mall, a big electronics market in Shanghai where wholesalers distribute phones to sellers in small stalls. “Once you have good relationships with customs and airline companies, you can ship whatever products you like. We smuggle it both by air and by boat.”

Writer, Nick Bilton, points out that the smugglers' actions have created some racial profiling, according to one Asian-American woman, but overall, it could be a good thing for Apple. Also, if the IPhone is desired so much because of its rarity, then maybe this is the first example of how America can get more of its products sold.