Twenty-First Century China

This is my essay submitted for our English class. Please give your comments, especially negative comments, to help me improve my writing. Thanks!

During the nineteenth century, China was greatly oppressed and abused by outsiders especially the British, the Russians, and the neighboring Japanese. Whenever there was war, China always lost, and as a consequence, paid huge sums of money, lost diplomatic rights, and even gave out large tracts of land to these foreign powers.

Foreigners were not the only problem at that time. Even the Qing government itself was corrupt and brutal to the Chinese people. Officials extorted money; the wise and patriotic were beheaded for their modern ideas and noble acts; even the emperor does not have power for he was under the control of his grand-aunt, the Empress Dowager.

It was until many years later when Mao Zedong came to power and reformed China. He made sure that people worked hard and did their parts. As the years went by, China was slowly progressing, and when she “opened” herself to the world during the late seventies, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, she experienced a steady growth. And now, in this twenty-first century, after rising up from her past humiliations, China, the so-called “Sleeping Dragon,” has now awakened, and is becoming one of the world’s economic leaders.

China is now a major exporter of all sorts of goods. Take a look around. Majority of the things we see and buy – the clothes we wear, the novelty items we buy, and even the iPods that we listen to everyday – are all made in China. Go to the 168 mall and everything there comes from China. When you go abroad, you will also find goods imported from China. Even all sorts of hi-tech gadgets are now being produced in China.

Early this year, China’s economy grew by 10.2 percent, appreciating the Yuan very rapidly, which was beyond the expectations of people. Due to large-scale exports and investments, China has a surplus with its global trading partners, leading to falling prices in commodities. Through these, she gained a high stature and an edge against other powerful countries, thus spreading her influence across the world.

It is now a very big advantage for people to know how to speak the Chinese language. Now that China is at such a progressive state, investors and businessmen find it a must to talk straight Chinese with Chinese businessmen rather than speak in English. In countries around the world, you can see Chinatowns in all of the major cities, selling traditional Chinese goods and even living by Chinese traditions. This is how much she has spread her influence everywhere.

China will surely reach the summit of economic growth and power. It is through the joint efforts of the Chinese government and its people that their country has evolved to such a state. She has become very competitive, not far behind other progressive countries. If China continues to prosper at such a quick rate, then this twenty-first century will surely be China’s century.