Real China a far cry from media images

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By Michel Godet and Francis Mer (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-24 07:43

News is updating rapidly. After being fustigated because of the Lhasa riots, the Chinese government is widely applauded by the international media for its quick, efficient response and high-level transparency.

Only two hours after the earthquake struck much of Sichuan province on May 12, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing for Chengdu, the nearest city to the epicenter Wenchuan county, and mobilized 100,000 people to rescue the victims.

China's reaction constituted a stark contrast to the US' response after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana state in 2005.

After a visit to the Chinese mainland in April, a team of 30-plus French historians and economists concluded that many prevailing negative views in France about China were completely wrong, from Tibet's reality, China's development to people's freedom.

Our "virtuous" media have been worrying about the "world factory", the huge price of its labor costs and environmental pollution.

However, the existing problems don't overweigh the unprecedented development in humankind's history.

It is high time we took a new look at China and noticed its progresses toward modernization.

Even New York seems pale in front of the unbelievable Shanghai. Colorful skyscrapers are mushrooming in the metropolis, challenging architectural arts. The socialist market economy moved people into modern, well-designed buildings with air conditioners.

Even in inner lands of China, stores are full of daily necessities and luxurious goods.

Like in any other place in the world, we will meet policemen. But they often just carry mobile phones with them, which is seldom seen in other countries. Perhaps we need to amend many parts of our films about China.

First of all China is no longer an underdeveloped country.

According to international standards, China's GDP per capita exceeded $7,500 in 2006, which was 10 times of the figure in 1980, equivalent to the level of France in late 1950s and Portugal in 1970s.

Nowadays our standard of living is about four times higher than that of the Chinese.

But if we calculate in the way of the late French economist Jean Fourasti, our living standards are about two or three times higher than of the Chinese in terms of average wages and local commodity prices.

In the development trajectory, with annual per capita GDP growth rate at 7-8 percent, Chinese people will catch up with us in 2030. As to two-wheel vehicles they have already surpassed us: in Shanghai and many other places in China, bicycles and motors have quietly given way to electrical bicycles.

The whole word should be glad at witnessing China's progress in getting rich.

China is investing more in the next generation's education and modern infrastructure, but far from enough. It has to accelerate its development before it gets aged.

Benefiting from the national banking system and the whole savings accounting for 40 percent of its GDP, China is able to invest huge amounts of money into infrastructure and public facilities.

China is expected to enter a perfect growth period fueled by domestic demands after the Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

The rapid development has brought great benefits to littoral areas.

Inlands are not that lucky. For example, the western parts with 11 percent of the Chinese population contribute only 7 percent of GDP. It is true, but the good news is that Chinese people are developing the "faraway West" which takes up about half of the total territory.

Tibet is a place that many French media outlets give large space to. But we have learned about a completely different Tibet from them: it has been part of Chinese territory since the 13th century.

Thanks to declining infant mortality, there is a population of 2.8 million in Tibet autonomous region, in which 92 percent are Tibetans. Please remember that in the population there in 1951 Tibetans were 1.1 million.

When we criticize China, we should be a little more moderate, for at least the big power recognizes customs and rights of its 55 minority ethnic groups, which altogether compose 100 million of its total 1.3 billion population.

In one word, we should be optimistic about human's future after seeing the sample of China's development. China successfully realizes modernization through its history, culture and traditional values.

We believe that while the "Middle Kingdom" can be authoritative enough to effectively tackle pollution, traffic jams, corruption and other social problems - they also make headlines in any other country's newspapers, Chinese people can arrange their personal lives of their own free will.

The article first appeared in LE MONDE

(China Daily 06/24/2008 page9)