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Beijing 2008 Olympics: Symbol of the Emergence of China as a Global Power

Ghelawdewos Araia August 10, 2008

China is an ancient country and a huge country with an area of 3,601,900 square miles. The Great Wall of China, built by the order of the first emperor after 210 BC, that stretches for 4000 miles across this ancient landmass, is at once a testimony to the ancient Chinese civilization and a constant reminder of the grandeur and reemergence of a nation as a global power.

On August 8, 2008 when I watched the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympics, I was mesmerized and totally captivated by the 2008 drummers, not only by the sheer elegance and symmetry of their polymetric body movements, but also by their astounding dramatic reenactment of the glorious past of China. The talent of these seemingly robotic drummers altogether blends the bounties of nature and humanity and their gratifying posture, in a word, was protean, displaying great diversity in contradistinction to the uniformity of their roles. The incredible military-like pageantry of these drummers may not get a satisfying intellectual explanation if superficially observed but on close scrutiny the 4016 hands operated like two giant hands to signify unity, and most importantly the 4016 glowing drum sticks used by the drummers symbolize light of hope and bright future.

Other 2008 masked, or more appropriately boxed, performers who skillfully but deceptively gave the already hypnotized audience the illusion of a tidal wave on a restless sea then followed the drummers. One would assume that the choreography underneath the mysterious boxes is the work of a computer animation or mechanical devices that were programmed to act in tandem, until the dancers unmasked themselves and greeted the audience with a bursting laughter. These dancers, apparently, represent the Great Wall of China, symbol of harmony, and their covert acts perhaps suggest the mystery of China while their laughter is meant to signify China’s reintegration in the global economy.

Both performances are unmistakably rooted in the methodological rigor and discipline of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and while they lend the requisite touch of antiquity, they also candidly wanted to demonstrate the authentic glimpse of modern China that must be reckoned with by the world as an emerging global power. Finally, over 200 nations entered the Bird’s Nest, a marvelous architecture that symbolized the ancient Chinese philosophy of eternal stability. Once the nations settled down, the Olympic torch was relayed by several famous Chinese athletes and culminated in the last torchbearer, who suddenly was uplifted to resemble a flying human-beast walking on air and around the top ceiling of the Bird’s Nest. This last torchbearer, who ignited the Olympic flame, I believe, must symbolize the uplifting spirit of humanity and the emergence of China.

Interestingly, eighty heads of states came to witness first hand the Beijing Olympics. The convergence of these many heads of states and dignitaries in china is a clear indication of the tacit recognition of China as a power. On the other hand, however, China may need more time to really assume the status of a de facto superpower. The necessity to gather momentum perhaps is suggested by the victory of the US basketball team over the Chinese team on August 10. Among the jubilant American spectators was President Bush, who exhibited incessant smiles, and from time to time extended thumbs up to the American Dream Team. If the casual observer comes up with his/her wildest interpretation, however, President Bush was telling the world that the US is still the sole superpower although it has no illusion, at this point, of the emergence of China as a regional power in transition.

China may still have to meet the preconditions and requirements for what it takes to be a global power, but it has already come and traversed many checkered avenues and this is why.

China has not only come a long way, but it has also witnessed arduous and turbulent years accompanied by blind ideological fanaticism, wrong strategies of development like the Great Leap Forward and the collective communes in agriculture, and the Great Cultural Revolution that decimated thousands of foes and friends alike. Then came the great awakening of China in the post-cultural revolution. The country critically examined and assessed its past mistakes and pitfalls; introspectively rediscovered itself and forged a new foreign policy of table tennis cultural exchange initiated by Mao Zedong in 1971. The Mao initiative, later known as Ping-Pong Diplomacy, paid off and enabled China to re-emerge from its relative obscurity and reconnect itself with the world. In fact, soon after the table tennis cultural exchange began, the United States, under the leadership of Richard Nixon, recognized China as a potential large country in the orient to work with through peaceful and diplomatic means.

In the wake of the Ping-Pong Diplomacy, China was determined to make revolutionary reform in its economic and political policies. It gradually but surely dismantled the collective communes and installed a mixed economy instead. It encouraged family and private farms and allowed private firms to operate in China. While China pursued market socialism, the other neighboring “Chinas”, i.e. Taiwan and Hong Kong, promoted dirigiste (state controlled) capitalism and laissez faire capitalism respectively. Despite the different economic policies of the “three Chinas,” Mainland China astutely and cleverly executed its relations with Hong Kong and Taiwan to its advantage. In anticipation of the incorporation of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, the Chinese had established a powerful Xinhua Agency in 1985 that was meant to advance their interest in Hong Kong. Indeed, Hong Kong served China as source of information technology (IT), financial hub, and management know-how. Similarly, Taiwan became an important conduit between China, the West and the Asia-Pacific region while at the same time used its Strait Exchange Foundation to deal with China.

Beyond Taiwan and Hong Kong, China became an active member in various regional economic zones. For instance, the Yellow Sea Economic Zone links northern China, the two Koreas, and Japan; the Japan Sea Economic Zone involves Japan, eastern Russia, northeastern China, and both Koreas; the Tumen River Basin Economic Zone (TRBEZ) accommodates China, Russia, and the Koreas.

Once China successfully reconnected itself with the rest of the world and became actively engaged in regional and sub-regional economic zones, as a matter of course, it had to upgrade its industries and promote technology-intensive sectors of the industry in exchange of a carefully crafted cheaper land prices to potential investors. This open-door policy resulted in huge foreign direct investment (FDI) of South Korea and great investment of Hong Kong. South Korea invested in at least ten regions of China, including Bohai, Shandong, Beijing, Jilin, and other regions. Hong Kong poured machinery and raw materials to China’s Special Economic Zones in the Pearl River Delta.

On top of structural relations in the economic zones, the Chinese also promoted person-to-person relations to attract foreign investors. A good example of these rather personal ties is the successful attraction of a Hong Kong multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing and another Taiwanese billionaire Wang Yung-ching by the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The two billionaires indeed made huge investments in property development and petrochemical industries.

Now, China has gone beyond regional and sub-regional cooperation to global investment. It has invested in oil exploration in the Sudan, highway construction in Ethiopia, various development projects in Angola, and soybean plantation in Brazil. China now clearly exhibits dominance of output, investment, and trade, and Chinese products have virtually inundated global markets including those of the United States.

China, of course, cannot become a global power by merely depending on its industrial output unless the latter is supplemented by a powerful military, which arguably could be dubbed a necessary evil. China indeed is a military-industrial complex and has even surprised the world by its space program, but is no match to the United States and even Russia. In spite of its Achilles Heels, however, China will dominate East Asia and South East Asia and will demonstrate a tremendous impact on Africa, south and west Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. In the long run, its neighbors may have to recognize China’s economic and strategic interests and may be compelled to reckon with the unstoppable dragon of the orient. While Hong Kong is unforeseen bonus to China and vise versa, Taiwan may encounter a tragic fate that could threaten its very existence. This tiny island, after all, is like a small fish swimming near a relatively accommodating shark whale.

China has definitely emerged as a global superpower. My only hope is that China’s inclusion in the global political theater brings peace as the wonderful performers of the opening ceremony Beijing 2008 Olympics and the Bird’s Nest confidently and proudly asserted China’s mission of peace and tranquility.