WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 For decades China has been celebrated as one 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:09.279 of the greatest economic success stories in history. 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.480 Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:16.219 out of poverty. Chinese companies have expanded 00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:19.379 across the globe and Chinese factories have become 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:24.199 the workshop of the world. But has China's success 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:28.219 become so great? that it is preventing other 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:32.479 countries from following the same path. Economists 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:36.200 are asking this question more and more now. Has 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.820 China's rise become a problem for developing 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:44.420 countries? For much of modern history, becoming 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:47.719 rich has usually followed a similar pattern. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:52.079 Countries industrialize. They build factories. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:57.469 They manufacture products. They export goods, 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:01.310 their incomes rise, and that's exactly what happened 00:01:01.310 --> 00:01:04.310 in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:09.030 Later it happened in Germany, in Japan, South 00:01:09.030 --> 00:01:13.989 Korea, Taiwan, and eventually China. But many 00:01:13.989 --> 00:01:16.329 experts are beginning to wonder whether China 00:01:16.329 --> 00:01:21.640 has changed the rules of the game. To industrialize 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:25.879 is to develop industries and manufacturing capabilities 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:31.180 To give you an example South Korea industrialized 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:35.980 rapidly during the second half of the 20th century 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.180 Manufacturing just refers to the process of producing 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:45.900 goods in factories China dominates global manufacturing 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:51.489 in many sectors If you hear developing country, 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:55.310 that's a country with lower average income levels 00:01:55.310 --> 00:02:01.209 that is still growing economically. Examples 00:02:01.209 --> 00:02:04.730 would include parts of Africa, Latin America, 00:02:04.930 --> 00:02:10.430 and South Asia. China isn't simply another large 00:02:10.430 --> 00:02:15.669 economy. It's become a true global superpower. 00:02:16.710 --> 00:02:21.060 A country with enormous economic, military, technological 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:24.840 and political influence as superpower. The United 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:28.479 States has held that position for decades. Now 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:32.740 China has increasingly challenged American dominance. 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:38.000 Notice the present perfect here. China has increasingly 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.879 challenged American dominance. We use the present 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:44.699 perfect because the process started in the past 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:48.750 and it continues today. A relevant phrasal verb 00:02:48.750 --> 00:02:53.210 here is to move up. That's to advance to a higher 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:58.969 position, to move up. As an example, China has 00:02:58.969 --> 00:03:03.310 moved up the global economic rankings, to move 00:03:03.310 --> 00:03:08.909 up. The idea of a hegemon. This is one word frequently 00:03:08.909 --> 00:03:13.949 used by political scientists, hegemon. That's 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:17.169 a country that dominates the international system, 00:03:17.169 --> 00:03:20.289 if you like. The United States has often been 00:03:20.289 --> 00:03:23.289 described as the world's hegemon since the end 00:03:23.289 --> 00:03:27.789 of the Cold War. And China may be seeking a similar 00:03:27.789 --> 00:03:32.449 role. An article I'm looking at right now mentions 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:36.830 something called public goods. Benefits that 00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:41.009 help many countries, not just one. Public goods 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:45.409 can be safe shipping routes, international financial 00:03:45.409 --> 00:03:50.689 systems or global health initiatives or climate 00:03:50.689 --> 00:03:55.750 cooperation. These are often called public goods. 00:03:56.990 --> 00:03:59.430 Historically powerful countries have often provided 00:03:59.430 --> 00:04:02.669 these services and the question today is whether 00:04:02.669 --> 00:04:06.889 China is willing and able to do the same. For 00:04:06.889 --> 00:04:11.909 years many poorer countries, they admired China's 00:04:11.909 --> 00:04:16.089 success. China showed that a developing nation 00:04:16.089 --> 00:04:19.490 could become wealthy through industrialization. 00:04:20.810 --> 00:04:23.949 But now some countries have become very concerned. 00:04:25.189 --> 00:04:30.050 Why? Because China may be too successful. There's 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:33.230 an idiom here. We've used this before in previous 00:04:33.230 --> 00:04:37.839 podcast episodes. a double -edged sword. And 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:40.579 it applies here, something that creates both 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:45.060 advantages and disadvantages. China's economic 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:49.220 growth has been a double -edged sword for developing 00:04:49.220 --> 00:04:54.000 countries. You see, China produces enormous quantities 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:00.220 of steel, solar panels, electric vehicles, batteries, 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:06.319 consumer electronics... machinery and its factories 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:10.819 are highly efficient. Its supply chains are incredibly 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:15.019 sophisticated. By supply chain, we just mean 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:18.600 the network involved in producing and delivering 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:24.660 products. For example, the pandemic exposed weaknesses 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:30.019 in global supply chains. When we talk about efficient 00:05:30.019 --> 00:05:34.459 or efficiency, This is producing results with 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:39.339 minimal waste. For example, Chinese manufacturers 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:44.180 have become extremely efficient. Now consider 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:49.420 this sentence. China has been expanding its manufacturing 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:54.160 capacity for decades. So we're saying has, have 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:58.579 been, plus a verb, plus ing. This is the present 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:03.540 perfect continuous. China has been expanding 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:08.220 its manufacturing capacity for decades. This 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:11.160 means the activity started in the past and it 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.939 continues now. To give you other examples you 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:20.620 could say China has been investing heavily in 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:26.459 infrastructure or developing countries have been 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:32.019 struggling to compete. Now many poorer nations, 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:35.060 they worry that Chinese products are simply too 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:40.420 competitive. Imagine you are trying to build, 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:44.699 say, a local manufacturing industry. You need 00:06:44.699 --> 00:06:48.680 factories, you need investments, and you need 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.519 customers. But what happens when Chinese products 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:57.680 are already cheaper? many local companies find 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.540 it difficult to compete. There's a phrasal verb 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:05.740 that's very relevant here, to crowd out. This 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:09.939 is to reduce opportunities for others. And some 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:14.519 economists argue that Chinese exports are crowding 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:21.279 out local manufacturers, to crowd out. Now supporters 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:24.779 of this argument, they point to history. When 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:29.720 Britain Europe and later the United States industrialized. 00:07:30.300 --> 00:07:33.980 Other countries eventually gained opportunities 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:40.759 too. Technology spread, investment spread, manufacturing 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:46.040 spread, Japan industrialized, then South Korea, 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:51.639 then Taiwan, then China. And the latter, this 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:56.589 latter, remained available. Which brings us to 00:07:56.589 --> 00:07:59.209 an idiom that's often used in this argument. 00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:03.529 To pull up the ladder. This is to prevent others 00:08:03.529 --> 00:08:07.269 from following the same path that helped you 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:13.389 succeed. And some critics claim China may unintentionally 00:08:13.389 --> 00:08:18.230 be pulling up the ladder before it. Of course 00:08:18.230 --> 00:08:22.649 China strongly disagrees with many of these criticisms. 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:27.259 Chinese leaders argue that competition is normal. 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:32.139 Countries should improve productivity. China 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:35.519 invests heavily in developing countries. And 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:40.000 Chinese companies create jobs abroad. Infrastructure 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.960 projects they help economic development. And 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:46.980 China frequently points to initiatives such as 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:51.429 the Belt and Road Initiative. which is finance 00:08:51.429 --> 00:08:55.629 roads and railways, ports and power projects 00:08:55.629 --> 00:08:59.870 around the world. When we talk about infrastructure, 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:03.669 we're just talking about the basic systems that 00:09:03.669 --> 00:09:09.470 allow an economy to function. Examples are roads, 00:09:09.990 --> 00:09:14.330 ports, railways, power grids, our infrastructure 00:09:14.330 --> 00:09:19.669 and internet networks. This debate is particularly 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:23.899 important in Africa. Many African countries hope 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:27.740 to industrialize in the coming decades, in the 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:31.779 next few decades, the coming decades. But can 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:34.820 they build factories if Chinese products dominate 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:39.039 global markets? There's no simple answer to this. 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:43.360 Some countries have attracted investment by specializing 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:47.679 in specific sectors, and others have struggled 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:52.200 to compete. A phrasal verb here is to break into, 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:57.320 that's to enter a new market or industry. Several 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:01.019 African nations are trying to break into manufacturing. 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:05.899 And ultimately, this debate is about more than 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:10.460 just economics. It's about power. It's about 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:14.720 influence. And it's about what kind of world 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:19.059 order will emerge during the 21st century. China. 00:10:19.289 --> 00:10:24.110 has transformed the global economy. It's lifted 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:28.730 hundreds of millions out of poverty. It has become 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:33.450 a technological powerhouse. Yet its success has 00:10:33.450 --> 00:10:36.590 also raised difficult questions about whether 00:10:36.590 --> 00:10:39.889 future generations of developing countries will 00:10:39.889 --> 00:10:43.730 have the same opportunities. So you heard the 00:10:43.730 --> 00:10:48.470 word hegemon. That's a dominant global power. 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:53.059 Industrialisation is the development of manufacturing 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:57.259 industries. Public goods are benefits shared 00:10:57.259 --> 00:11:01.960 by many countries. A supply chain is the network 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.000 involved in producing and distributing goods. 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:09.600 Infrastructure is essential physical systems 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:13.940 like roads, power networks. Manufacturing capacity, 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:19.070 this is the ability to produce goods. You might 00:11:19.070 --> 00:11:23.090 hear the factory is at full capacity or we have 00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:26.350 capacity. It's the ability to produce goods. 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:30.590 Productivity, that's the efficiency of production. 00:11:31.809 --> 00:11:35.409 Now, we heard phrasal verbs. To move up. This 00:11:35.409 --> 00:11:41.970 is to advance. To crowd out. To reduce opportunities 00:11:41.970 --> 00:11:47.639 for others. Break into. to enter a new area or 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:52.419 market. Some of the idioms, a couple of idioms, 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:56.320 a double -edged sword, something with both positive 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.940 and negative consequences, pull up the ladder 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:04.379 to prevent others from following the same path 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:09.460 to success. And during this episode we heard 00:12:09.460 --> 00:12:13.279 a lot of the present perfect. China has become 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:18.159 a global superpower. It started in the past and 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:21.740 it's still relevant now. China has transformed 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:26.039 world trade. Developing countries have raised 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:30.159 concerns. We heard the present perfect continuous. 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:35.899 China has been expanding ING. Its manufacturing 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:40.399 base. Economists have been debating this issue 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:44.960 for years. and many countries have been searching 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:51.700 ING on the verb for new development models. So 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:54.419 China's rise may be one of the most important 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:59.179 stories of our time. The country has achieved 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:03.399 extraordinary economic growth and has become 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:09.620 a central player in global affairs. But as China 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:13.419 continues to grow, the world faces a new question. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:18.100 Can a country become a superpower while still 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:22.399 creating opportunities for others to rise alongside 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:27.879 it? That debate has only just begun. Thank you 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:32.179 for listening to Listen Global English. If you've 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:34.320 enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.879 the podcast, share it with a friend who wants 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:40.100 to improve their English through real -world 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:43.620 topics. That's how we teach English here. And 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:46.340 I've done this for the past 16 years here in 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:49.919 Colombia. So until next time, keep listening, 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:53.960 keep learning and keep improving your English. 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:55.980 Bye bye for now.