China's status: A 'half-developed' country?

• Source: Global Times
• [23:16 January 21 2010]
• Comments

By Liu Zhiqin

In 2009, Chinese character bei (be done) was undoubtedly the most defining word of what prevailed in the year. For me, nothing could be more impressive than China seeing itself as "being developed."

In the past year, discussions on "China-US sharing governance" or "China-US leading the whole world together" gradually emerged on the international stage, including the popular expression "G2."

Especially around the time of the "UN Climate Change Conference" in December last year, China's "being developed" was the focus of public opinion.

The leading developed countries were unanimous in pushing China to take the seat of "a developed country," commending China with the tag of "developed country."

And, then they claimed China should bear its emission responsibility and obligation, which are even heavier than that of some very advanced countries.

Unlike in the past, several developing countries also favored the opinion that "China belongs to developed countries," intentionally or otherwise.

Whether we are willing or not, we have to confront this topic many times today and in the future.

We have to choose which strata we want to be identified with and how to position ourselves again.

It seems that China "being developed" is inevitable.

We have to admit the fact that China is the world's biggest automobile producer, the biggest exporter, and poised to become the second largest economic power, and so on and so forth.

It is reasonable then that China is viewed as a developed country. However, regardless of other countries' view, we should know where we stand, or we may lose friends in both the developed and developing worlds.

In my view, China is now a half-developing and half-developed country. On the whole, there are still decades for China to catch up with the rich, Western countries.