Good Reads on China and Reality

James Fallows is right: The 44 percent of Americans who recently told Pew that China "is the world’s leading economic power" are (I'll be kinder than Fallows here) deluded.

But it's not an entirely unreasonable misconception, given the way China gets talked about on this side of the Pacific. China's economy is booming (though it, too, has suffered in the Great Recession). Its military is growing (even if it is far behind the US). It remains stubbornly Communist and undemocratic (though a far cry from totalitarian in many ways, and the central government is far less powerful than many in the US imply).

So, in service of reality, here are a few good reads on China as it is:

Evan Osnos: Top 10 China Myths of 2009

China in 2009 was the land we all hoped it would be: the enemy, the friend, the brilliant tactician, the bumbling oaf. China is such a mix of strength and weakness these days that it provides endless material for opportunistic arguments.

Also worth checking out is Osnos's post today, on China's role in Copenhagen.

Matt Schiavenza: China Mythbusting

China’s massive population skews numbers. In gross terms, China’s economy is the third largest in the world, ranking between Japan and Germany. In terms of growth per capita, though, China is by any measure a poor country. This Wikipedia page lists GDP per capita figures in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). Countries ranked near China include Angola, Armenia, and Namibia. Nobody in America thinks of these countries as economic superpowers, do they? And yet in one sense China’s economic position is more similar to them than it is to America, Japan, or Germany. There are a lot of wealthy people in China, but that’s because there are a lot of people, period.

And one more from Fallows...

It's worth reading his critiques of the press coverage of Obama's recent trip to China.

There's more, of course. If you're interested, here's a feed:

More of Chris Amico's: china Links

Before: Building a Better Ecosystem for Transparency | After: More on China and Reality: The Big Disconnect