By: Adam Cooke
Written in December 2022
Photo via lasenatusscriptors.com
China, formally referred to as the People’s Republic of China, defeated the nationalists in the Chinese Civil War in the 20th century. Ever since then, they have dealt with a large number of issues, including the Great Leap Forward, Tiananmen Square Protests. Currently they face plenty of ongoing unrest and collapse imminent under the oppressive, authoritarian country that rules over 1.4 billion people. These such issues and interests conflict with US and global interests.
Population collapse
As previously mentioned, China holds about 1.4 billion people inside of it, mainly contained in the eastern provinces near the coast. One would think that it’s population is exponentially growing, but it is actually the opposite of what’s happening. The population is expected to collapse after peaking around 2029-2032. The collapse is most likely unstoppable, and primarily due to unbalanced sex ratio and an aging population. The One Child Policy was in effect for almost half of a century, and only recently replaced with the Three Child Policy. Due to this, many women were sent away and aborted when a male is desired. Sex ratios are wildly unbalanced now, and definitely hasnt helped the aging situation of the population. It will be a lot harder for the working population, which will significantly decrease, to support the youth and elderly. The population is expected to be cut in half by 2100.
Civil Unrest
Some of the biggest protests since the huge Tiananmen Square protests have taken place over the past weeks scattered throughout the country. Such places include Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and also throughout Xinjiang, the Northwest majority Muslim province. The government has discriminated against the people here, leading in many crackdowns and persecution over the years. One of the main issues being protested is the Zero-Covid policy and Xi Jinping’s regime. The Zero-Covid policy allows for the government to harshly lock up and segregate anyone with the virus, and keep everyone at home all of the time. After some deaths due to the policy, many protests have occurred. Xi Jinping also has essentially become a complete dictator in the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), as the term limit recently was limited, allowing for Xi to serve for life. He has ruled with an iron fist during his tenure throughout the 2010s-2020s, ironically banning Winnie the Pooh for making fun of him in meme culture.
Pictured is a comparison of Xi Jinping and Winnie the Pooh
Economic Collapse also on the Horizon
In a very complicated situation, China’s already struggling economy seems to be on a path toward serious trouble, which has quite a few global implications. Many huge problems have been caused by different factors, notably housing crises, and their Covid policies, which have racked up a ton of hidden debt. US manufacturing orders are down 40% recently in anticipation of China’s economy worsening in the near future. So many exports of goods come from them, and to struggle is a large global issue.
China has a multitude of domestic issues that they need to deal with sooner rather than later instead of focusing on reclaiming Taiwan and other land. The civil unrest along with population and economic collapses will have catastrophic effects on the world if they’re not efficiently dealt with, and it will be interesting to see how XI Jinping and his harsh rule will handle it.
Adam Cooke Journalism 