Granted that China’s transformation from a poor country, sabotaged by exploitation and interference by Western nations in a destructive and nasty alliance with Japan, to a rich, sophisticated, technologically-advanced economic powerhouse, was at first imperceptibly slow. But in today’s fast-paced times, twenty years can make a big difference. A lot of Westerners, and I have to say from personal experience, most Japanese, have not kept up with the developments of their neighbor over the last two decades.
I was in Beijing in 2007. There was a lot of construction going on in preparation for the upcoming Olympic games. I was in Chengdu in 2009, a stopover on my way to Nepal. Again, I saw a lot of construction underway. But both of these major cities back then were still at the beginning stages of the rebirth of the country. It was old China with a hint of the new. The public restrooms were usually filthy. As bustling as both these mega metropolises were, I didn’t sense much enthusiasm or excitement.
So I guess it’s understandable that the old views and prejudices about China still dominate any discussion of what China is like now.
Straightforward and telling statistic: It took four decades but China has lifted 800 million people — that’s 56% of its population — out of extreme poverty. Can we say the same of the U.S.?
