36 Comments Add your own

• 1. Mike  |  January 27th, 2011 at 11:36 pm

  it was definitely a nice concise discussion on China and its difference. I personally would have changed his argument of race to that of class as the important feature in china

• 2. Robbin Forsyth  |  January 29th, 2011 at 8:05 pm

  Wow, that puts a new perspective on a few things.
  Impressive and intriguing lecture.
  His three areas of Chinese cultural perspective should be engrained in every American. These are ideas that I’ve never been able to fully assemble myself. I have held pieces of them in my head, but the talk really forged them cohesively together.
  The concepts that really opened my eyes were:
  1- The shear span of time that the Chinese culture has endured across. Home many people of European descent can trace their linage back to the Visigoths or Romans?
  2- Ideas was the idea that Americans and Europeans have never, (in the last 200 years) had to try and understand cultures from developing countries. The blind spot he describes is real. I agree that we, (westerners) need to strive for understanding of other cultures in the developing countries in order to be able to participate in shaping the future.

• 3. David Hart  |  February 3rd, 2011 at 8:56 am

  Great speaker! He really hit the point that China is NOT the west. It is a totally different culture and country. We must learn to view China from a different lens than we are used to.

  Some interesting takeaways:

  –China is a civilization-state, not a nation-state
  –China is diverse and decentralized, despite what westerners may think
  –Much of the culture believes in being part of the same race; many believe in their superiority
  –Many Chinese believe the “state” as the patriarch of the family

  As Westerners, I agree that many of us do not really have a good grasp of China. It will continue to become more and more relevent in the world. As it continues to expand and develop, the west will have no choice but to understand China. The speaker said “If you want to taste the future, try China.” This is one reason I think this class is so helpful to MBA students.

• 4. Jessica Shayler  |  February 6th, 2011 at 12:26 pm

  More and more I feel like I am in some “secret club” as a student in the MBA program. I have shared with many of you my views that HS math classes should look more like our mathy courses (economics, statistics, finance, etc). This TedX lecture is now making me think we not only need to update our math curriculum, but also our history.

  Throughout K-12 education, students learn and re-learn American history several times over in comparison to World history. Many World history courses (especially in private education) barely make it into the 20th century and do not focus on current implications of the past. I feel the myopic focus on American history and the lack of depth in World history is part of the reason why Americans are so ignorant about the world and China.

  I know I learned a few things just from this 20min lecture. For instance, I am realizing that one of the key disadvantages of democracy is how long it takes to start (much less complete) any major infrastructure project. Whereas in China, they have a long history of state-initiated infrastructure projects (Great Wall, the canal) and this tradition has carried into how they view the interaction of the market and the state.

  I’m sure all of you who watched the 20min lecture learned a lot, as I did. Imagine what our students could learn and what they could do from years of study?

• 5. Cassie Bettencourt  |  February 10th, 2011 at 2:48 pm

  Martin Jacques taught me a lot in this 20 minute speech, and I agree with the China trip alumni’s letter in the post that it is all important stuff that us as MBAs and people all around the world need to be aware of. The idea of viewing China as a civilization state instead of viewing it like a nation state, which is how the west operates, presented a really interesting paradigm shift. This was Jacques’s first building block, and I feel it was the most relevant to beginning to understand China and making better predictions as to its actions and development.

  A specific point that I found provoking was the idea that at the end of the day, China could get its own way by force. It is not forced to “westernize” like other countries that are modernizing and developing. This ties into the fact that China will have the largest economy in the world by 2020. Jacques’s statement that such a huge developing country and the world’s largest economy go hand-in-hand really put what is happening in China into perspective. This is new stuff and we need to be aware of it as history might not repeat itself this time.

  Finally, some key takeaways and new insights for me from the video:
  -The state is viewed as the patriarch of the family in China. This would have never made sense to me if Jacques had not just explained how a civilized state values unity and that the Chinese culture is embedded in over 2,000 years of history. However, with that in mind, I can kind of see how this perception has been formed.
  -The fact that Westerners find the Hong Kong/two separate systems weird because of our nation state mentality. This really highlights the difference between China’s mentality and our own.

  I think that it is crucial that we are not arrogant nor ignorant in regards to China, but I also think China’s presence in the world is making this kind of attitude impossible as time moves on.

• 6. Chris Fung  |  February 15th, 2011 at 8:25 am

  I found Mr. Jacques’ lecture to be very enlightening, especially pointing out how we in the “West” have been able to be ignorant of other cultures because of our economic, cultural, political and military superiority. I think as MBA students, it is important to success in the global economy (and for any company we work for) to understand other cultures in order to do business with them. If we don’t then I feel that we are going to be outclassed by our peers in Asia, especially China. For example, Americans for the latter half of the 20th century have enjoyed the position of being the top consumers in the world of “stuff” and haven’t had to worry about things that many others in the world face on a daily basis (i.e. hunger, oppression, political strife, etc. ). People in the world would want to be more western because that is where the economic, cultural and political influence has been strongest.

  However things are changing and the status quo is changing as well. If you look at the Chinese culture and how it has spanned for thousands of years, we can see how they are described as a “civilization state” and why that gives its citizens a strong sense of belonging. There is no doubt in my mind that the Chinese will be the powerhouse country of the 21st century just like America was during the 20th century. If we want to be successful as a country, we have increase our competitive advantage through education, expansion of infrastructure and our understanding of the other cultures outside of our “American” one.

• 7. Ashley Ogden  |  February 15th, 2011 at 9:02 am

  Martin Jacque’s main point in this TED talk was that Westerns are ignorant about how the World is changing and are unaware of what the future looks like. East Asia knows a lot more about the West than we know about Asia. To understand Asia, Jacques gives three “building blocks” that we need to be aware of. These are that China is not a nation state, it is a civilization state. Secondly, they have a different sense of race than Westerners. They don’t believe that they are a multiracial country whereas most Western countries are very multiracial. The third building block for understanding is the people’s relationship with the state. For the last 1,000 years, the state has not been challenged and that has lead to the people having a very intimate relationship with their state, unlike any Western nation.
  Another good point he made, which I have found true, is that you can’t understand the Chinese culture by merely drawing upon Western experiences. The Chinese culture is so different that Westerns cannot understand their way of thinking without closely studying their culture.

• 8. Brady Haug  |  February 15th, 2011 at 4:16 pm

  Martin Jacques raises a couple great points that have not been posed through any of our other blogs. He mentions that China represents a huge change in the world for two reasons: They will be the first superpower that is developing and not developed and that they are unscathed by Western ideas. Jacques further mentions that not only do technological advances drive development, but that history and culture do. I think he is right in that China will not become as Westernized as people imagine. The world has truly been shaped by Western history and ideas. He mentions that we cannot look at China through “Western eyes and concepts.” As China continues to gain world dominance, there will be an inevitable shift in global operations. I would agree with Jacques in that Europeans and Americans are arrogant in their interpretations of China. We see everything through Western ideas and the world will begin to be shaped by the East. Our world will become more unfamiliar because it will be based on Eastern ideals. In traveling to China, we need to continually put what we see in terms of Chinese history and culture. We cannot continue to apply our Western ideas to the East. In closing, I don’t think the West is “sleep walking into an oblivion,” but I do think it is important to grasp the concept of Eastern ideas replacing the Western grasp on the world, in order to better understand this global change.

• 9. Katie Moeller  |  February 18th, 2011 at 6:26 pm

  Martin Jacques raises some great points in this TED video. I think his statement of the West thinking it’s the best and being dormant in understanding other cultures is critical. I recently read a CNN article that said 30% of Americans have passports. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/04/americans.travel.domestically/index.html?iref=allsearch) This is disturbing on many levels. This reinforces Jacques claim that Westerners don’t feel the need to understand other cultures. We are signing ourselves up for taking a backseat to China and India. Our influence and authority in the world is being diminished by our own thought processes and ignorant ways. The reality that in a decade China could surpass the United States is eye-opening. The challenge to the Westerners is to be open to adopting and understanding new cultures and ways.

• 10. Will Moeller  |  February 18th, 2011 at 6:26 pm

  Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to separate the message being delivered from the person delivering it. He makes some good points, but this chap seems a bit too full of himself to be truly effective. Furthermore, he should Whitakerize his speech. It was chalk full of bumbling and incoherent dependent clauses.

  Also, it’s interesting to hear this chap talk about how China won’t become the west. The last blog I did was on the English Corner - how students in the Chinese universities embrace western values and artifacts. Truthfully, though, he’s probably right that because the West has had the power for 200 years, it could call itself the most cosmopolitan because no one else dared to threaten it with force. As the East takes over world power, the pro-American and pro-West sentiment will probably dissipate - there won’t be any glory in embracing a fallen culture. Instead the East will be able to Champion its own principles.

  This chap also lays down his - and he emphasizes they’re his - building blocks of Chinese culture. First, China is not a nation state, it’s a geographic state. Second, Chinese have a different perception of race - 90% believe they’re Han. Third, the Chinese civilization has safely guarded the idea of state, and the state has remained unchallenged.

  So, to be sure, this chap asserts that the West can’t understand China, then he, a Westerner, tells a crowd in London how to understand China…yes, this is the cynic’s view. But this chap delivers his speech with an authoritarian tone, as if he could not possibly be wrong. I realize these TED talks are supposed to get to the point quickly, but I have little tolerance for this kind of preachy and pompous delivery.

  On a completely different note, it is interesting to see the recent Goldman projection of when China’s economy is expected to surpass the United States’ on a GDP basis. 2020 was the projection after the American financial crisis.

  One final point, the chap makes a few good assertions about how the world should become more aware of Eastern culture. The Western world is pretty complacent and closed-minded when it comes to learning and understanding world history other than its own. The final two points of about Columbus’ ship and the origins of golf were poignant and effective.

• 11. Chris Bruns  |  February 19th, 2011 at 4:24 pm

  I enjoyed this video and I believe its biggest message is that it is all of our responsibilities to understand what is going on in the world. China isn’t the only country that is changing and growing and as future business people and citizens of the world, we should take it upon ourselves to always be learning. Martin Jacques had some great points and I could easily grasp how he described their political system and China’s stress on ‘unity.’ I also liked him addressing the point that China isn’t going to lose its culture or its ideals or background as it develops. And that it is foolish to think that countries become ‘more Western’ as they develop. I also found how he described the Chinese conception of ‘race’ and how China doesn’t feel multiracial except at the ‘margins.’ I hadn’t really thought of that point of view and how important the Han identity is to the country. Jacques also described the relationship between the Chinese state and its citizens, and the reasons for this relationship are that the state is the ‘guardian’ of the Chinese civilization and that the Chinese state hasn’t been challenged for the last 1000 years. The video is great guide to try and understand how the Chinese people think and how important it is to look at things without our preconceived notions.

• 12. Sarah Weinzapfel  |  February 20th, 2011 at 1:25 pm

  I think Mr. Jacques’ points were interesting views. It’s definitely something I’ll have to watch a few more times before we leave for China. I would have to say the point I most agreed with was that Americans think that because China is industrializing and I suppose use the West as somewhat of a model, is that they are still not like the West. I think it’s another problem of naive realism. We know they are different, but still have trouble predicting what will come of China and what they will do next because we can’t think past…well… what we think. We say we know they have different perspectives, but continue to fail to see past our own.

  Another point Jacques raised that makes perfect sense, but was still something I had never really thought of before was that Americans have never really had to adapt or understand other countries to work with them because of our position in the world. It’s actually pretty ignorant. With the chilling charts he presented about our economy and China’s growing economy it looks like we’re going to have to start taking some history lessons. I also loved that he threw in the picture of the different size boats and of the silk spool/golf game.

• 13. Tim Easton  |  February 23rd, 2011 at 9:34 pm

  I thought this was a great speech by Martin Jacques and was extremely informative. I completely agree with his point that the West is ignorant to what is happening in China, and I hope that this opened some people’s eyes to what is going on. The West has been the center of the modern world and we have developed an arrogance about us that is soon going to have to change. I have recently discovered a TV show, “An Idiot Abroad”, which highlights the ignorance of people when traveling to other cultures. The show is a documentary/social experiment produced by Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant, the producers of The Office. They send their friend, Karl Pilkington, to see the Seven Wonder’s of the World. Karl is a British guy that has never really traveled outside of the UK, and is extremely ignorant to other cultures. I know that most people are not as ignorant as he is but he still represents a portion of the Western population, in both the UK and the US. Hopefully everyone on our trip will be more open minded than Karl.
  Here are some clips from his trip to China.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nikCyXWbuc&feature=fvwrel
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdePBIbtGM8&feature=fvwrel
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTIs9fvkUA

• 14. Kristine Spencer  |  February 27th, 2011 at 12:26 am

  Mr. Jacques packed a lot of powerful concepts and ideas into 20 minutes, which was impressive. The world is changing very rapidly, and China is going to have a lot to do with all the change. Jacques three main points are: 1. China is a civilization state, not a nation state. 2. China has a different conception of race, and they believe that 90% of its population is of the Han race. 3. China’s government enjoys more authority and legitimacy because they are culturally seen as the patriarch of the family and this has gone unchallenged for 1,000 years. The world has been recently dominated by western and developed countries, but this will soon change due to China and India’s rise. Americans have not had to understand other cultures until now, and this will not be a quick fix scenario where China will become as westernized as we expect; this simply will not be the case. It is our responsibility in the US to keep updated and knowledgeable about other rising countries as a result. I agree with his overall argument that Americans and westerners cannot understand China by using western concepts and frameworks. I think that our entire way of thinking about the world is going to have to change. This is especially important considering that Jacques says that the west is rapidly losing influence in the world and this new world will become increasingly unfamiliar to us.

  One issue that deeply concerns me is China’s view on race and how this will effect racial relations in the future. The Han feeling of superiority is clearly seen through their issues with Tibet (the Dalai Lama) and Mongolians. That is one fundamental difference between America and China: America is a melting pot of civilizations and (to an extent) we brace this, while China is proud in their unity of race. Another troubling issue to me is our differences in views on government. This already is a huge issue for Americans to see how or why the Chinese would view their government as the head of their family. There is something deeply ingrained in the American fiber that says a bit of rebellion every now and then is the only way to keep our government in check. The Chinese and US cultures will ultimately have to find a way to come together and understand one another better than they do now.

• 15. Jessie Wilkie  |  February 28th, 2011 at 8:44 pm

  Martin Jacques is brilliant. I had never really thought about trying to view China outside of my Western lens until I saw this TED talk. It is such a must do, however, to truly be able to begin to understand China. Jacques was trying to do just that with his talk. He was trying to lay a simple foundation for westerners to be able to begin to understand China.

  He did this by starting with projections about the Chinese and US economies. As an American, this immediately caught my attention. The figures that he provided are listed:
  Goldman Sachs projections that were drawn up before the Western financial crisis.
  *In 2025, the Chinese economy will be almost the size of the American economy.
  *In 2050, the Chinese economy will be twice the size of the American economy.
  The post crisis projection for China reaching the size of US economy is 2020.
  This information was startling. China is going to surpass the US economy within the next decade. Never before has the modern era seen a developing country with the largest economy. China’s economy, however, has been very strong before. Adam Smith even compared it to Europe’s back in the 1800s and said that it was far more complex. But the China of 2020 got me start thinking about what this is going to look like for America… All I can think of is that our quality of life will keep declining.

  Most westerners assume that China will westernize while it modernizes. This isn’t true. It just goes back to our ethnocentric way of thinking. We westerners do tend to be ignorant and arrogant as Jacques points out. We think of ourselves as the most cosmopolitan of all cultures, but in many ways it’s the most parochial. Since we’ve been so dominate for the past couple hundred of years, we haven’t had to understand other cultures. East Asians are more knowledgable about the West than the West is about Asia. I know that after watching his talk, I now realize the fact that I’ve been viewing China from a very opinionated Western viewpoint.

  I have summarized Jacques’ three building blocks for trying to understand China below.

  1) China is not really a nation state. What it means for Chinese to be Chinese doesn’t come from the past 100 years (the nation state), but rather for thousands of years from the civilization state. China is huge demographically (population of 1.3 billion) and geographically; it is also very diverse and pluralistic. This means that the most important political value for the Chinese is unity, and the reacquisition of Hong Kong where China respected the one civilization, many systems mentality.
  2) The Chinese have a very different conception of race. The Chinese are only multiracial at the margins. Ninety percent of Chinese think that they are Han. This is good because it’s held China together, but it’s bad because Hans tend to be elitists.
  3) The Chinese state enjoys more legitimacy and authority than any Western state. This is because the state is symbolic for the representative, the embodiment, and the guardian of the Chinese civilization state. It is also because for 1,000 years the power of the Chinese state has not been challenged. The result is that the Chinese have a very different view of the state. The state is the patriarch of China.

  Finally, Jacques’ makes a very powerful close by discussing how the world will become unfamiliar to us westerners. At the same time, however, this emergence of civilizations like India, China, and Brazil represents the most important single act of democratization in the last 200 years. Civilizations who were ignored, who didn’t have a voice, will now have a presence in this world. We, as humanists, have to respect this. And this blows my mind. I would like to respect this as long as it doesn’t screw me over. I, as a human being, have to look out for myself. Oh the irony of it all…

• 16. Jason Jay Sharma  |  March 1st, 2011 at 2:58 am

  Martin Jacques TED discussion on Understanding the Rise of China is exactly what I’ve been waiting to hear throughout this blog process. Jacques presented a number of new ideas and views that have not been explored as greatly as the typical fare related to China’s economic growth and how it will affect us and the rest of the world. I must say, he was able to squeeze a lot of information into his short 20 minute timeframe–every sentence was an important statement, many times requiring me to re-listening to portions of his talk.

  I was excited to hear his three building blocks understanding China: 1) Nation State vs. Civilization State, 2) Concept of Race, and 3) Nature of the State and its Relationship to Society. Jacques explanation of the Civilization State really opened my eyes to the underlying concept that I knew was there, but wasn’t able to place my finger on. I believe grasping this concept of how the birth and maturity of China and other Eastern nations and realizing the major differences it holds against the Western World will help anyone understand China better.

  But the idea presented that caught my interest the most was that the Western World does not understand China as well as China (and other Asian or Eastern nations) understand the West. Jacques mentions if the Westernized countries want something, they could have it through force, thus rendering the need for understanding useless. What I’m realizing is that Eastern Asian nations now know us better than we know them and ourselves. This a scary concept, but I hope that as China and other developing nations gain power, they can work with us, rather than exert power over us as we may have done previously.

  As Humanists, we have to learn to accept and deal with the shift from a fraction of the world’s population ruling it to a majority of the world’s population controlling it. Conceptually, this makes sense, but it’s nonetheless frightening for us since we are the ones currently ruling! We should have saw this coming, they has a bigger boat…

• 17. Randy Camat  |  March 5th, 2011 at 4:41 pm

  I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Jacques’ talk on understanding China’s rise. He does a great job in putting things into perspective and explaining why China is different from other rising powers. One of the main takeaways I got from watching this video was that we can’t study China and expect things to happen using ‘Western eyes’ and concepts. This is the main reason why many of the assumptions we have are wrong. This also relates to how ignorant we in west are reluctant to learn about other cultures. I also asked myself that same question, and Mr. Jacque points out that we don’t need to understand other cultures because we have the power to take over by force. But what happens if we can’t – when the West no longer has an influence? We’d be forced to learn, but this time at a disadvantage of no longer being the dominant culture. I agree with Mr. Jacque in that we need to welcome the new transformations that will occur in the world and also take the initiative to learn about other cultures. This way China’s rise and maybe other countries in the future will be welcomed and not viewed as a threat to their own economies and encourage cooperation.

• 18. j hurley  |  March 5th, 2011 at 8:38 pm

  I had no idea projection of China’s growth were so large, especially within the next two decades. It seems like China will face a lot of difficult situations in the near future if they are to succeed in such rapid development and growth.
  It is interesting to hear how China is not like the west and will not become like the west. China has a very deep-rooted culture, and is something that the U.S. completely lacks. The U.S. has never really had to understand other countries and cultures very deeply. This has been due to the fact that America has always had an authority type role in the world; however, times are changing and we need to begin understanding.

• 19. Tyler Sereno  |  March 6th, 2011 at 3:59 pm

  This video contains a lot of useful information to help you better understand China. I found it shocking that they projected that by the year 2050, China’s economy will be twice the size of the American economy. China will change the world in two ways. First, a huge developing country will have the largest economy, rather than a developed country. Second, the dominant country in the world will not be from the West and will come from very different civilizational roots.

  The speaker offers three building blocks to help better understand China. The first is to realize that China is civilization-state, rather than a nation-state. China is huge both demographically and geographically, and it is very diverse and decentralized. The most important Chinese political value is unity. Second, the chinese have a very differnet conception of race. Over 90% of the population in China feels that they all come from the same race. The final building block is the relationship between the state and society in China is much different than it is in the West. The Chinese state enjoys more authority over its people than any other state, and the Chinese people view the state as the patriarch of their family.

  The speaker goes on to say that Westerners are ignorant and they refuse to view China as different. East Asia is far more knowledgable about the West than the West is about East Asia. The West is rapidly losing its influence on the world, and the world will become increasingly unfamiliar to us.

• 20. Matt Streiter  |  March 6th, 2011 at 6:43 pm

  Jacques makes an interesting point that the world is going to change from being primarily influenced by the United States and UK to rising countries like China with a much larger population. Looking at some of the leading technology present in China such as the train system, plans for buses that share the roads, and dam systems show that developing countries like China are able to implement cutting edge technology into their infrastructure that aren’t feasible in developed countries. Furthermore, as in discussed in other posts, the infrastructure can surpass that of the U.S.’s due to its poor maintenance record leading to a decrease in quality and efficiency.

  Jacques’ section about culture was also enlightening. Western civilization is definitely more likely to push their culture onto others than embrace other cultures themselves. This has a nice tie-in to other blogs we have done such as the English Corner where the Chinese actively study American culture and history and even teach classes in english. As we know, that is very one sided and to see something similar to that reciprocated in the states would be rare.

• 21. Tara Millard  |  March 6th, 2011 at 8:36 pm

  Martin Jacques’ views on China are extremely thought provoking and radical when viewed from a Western viewpoint, which is precisely what he is warning against. I found his main point to be to highlight the strengths and differences of China and enforce the importance of learning to understand this developing and rapidly growing nation.

  According to Martin, China’s economy is forecasted to be larger than the US economy within the next decade. This holds many implications for the US as a country, and business leaders living in the West. In contrast to what many people believe, Martin argues that China will not westernize as it continues to develop. China is not like the West and it will not begin to resemble the West as it grows in scale and power. Thus, in order for the United States to compete it is essential that we begin to understand China and its inner-workings.

  To further complicate the problem, Martin discusses that it is impossible to understand China in terms of Western thought. I take this to mean that the only way to truly understand China is to spend time immersed in the culture, and learn what it means to be and think like the Chinese. China has strong roots in its history which is where their unique social relationships and sense of civilization is formed from.

  China is gaining in the world economy. The United States must either learn to compete to stay ahead of China, or learn how to compete in a world economy that China dominates. Regardless, I believe it is essential for Americans to place an emphasis on understanding and learning from Chinese culture. If we cannot see that their economic tactics are far exceeding ours, then perhaps it is time that the US doesn’t dominate the global economy. China has strategically used strategies from various developed nations to grow at such an accelerated rate, perhaps it is time we start to look to their strategies for guidance.

• 22. Dan N  |  March 10th, 2011 at 1:59 pm

  Tying Jacques comments to the language that we are learning in b-school, it seems to me that the Far East’s superior understanding of all participants in the global economy represents a huge competitive advantage for them. In marketing we have been studying the process of segmentation, targeting, and positioning. In saying that the developing world had no choice but to see the world through the eyes of the West, Jacques is saying that they are many, many years ahead of the West in terms of segmenting the global economy and positioning its offerings in both developing and developed market segments. This should be very troubling to western businessmen.

  This speech presents a strong argument for why western b-students should, at the very least, study and visit China the way that we are. Realistically though, what I take from this speech is that three weeks in China won’t come close to giving us the insight that we need to compete with international competitors moving forward. Jacques firmly suggests that we need to dedicate ourselves to developing our perspective or risk “sleep walking into oblivian.”

• 23. Kyle R.  |  March 13th, 2011 at 10:22 am

  Martin Jacques presented some key information that Westerners should understand. It surprised me that China will have the largest economy in the world by 2020. I knew China’s economy was growing at an unbelievable rate, but had no idea that it was going to be this large in such a short amount of time. I wish I were able to speak with Martin to get his opinion on other topics regarding the future relationship the West will have with China. From my understanding thus far, it seems as if China has had this rapid growth primarily because of the West and its demand for cheaper labor and products. How devastating would it be for China if the West were to stop trading with and utilizing China’s resources? I wonder what the economic growth rate for China would be then?

  Martin’s presentation seemed to be a scare tactic for “waking up” the West to realize that there is a significant and powerful force that is rising. We need understand the Chinese history, culture, policy, and business practices in order to keep a long lasting and beneficial relationship for all parties involved. I found it troubling when he stated that the Hans feel they are racially superior when compared to others. However, I feel we can have a very productive and long lasting relationship with the China superpower, but it will require some work and creativity.

• 24. Ben Raymond  |  March 13th, 2011 at 2:39 pm

  Very thought provoking speech, as most Ted Talks are. The projections of China’s economic growth are staggering. I think it is very clear that we should make a more conscious effort to understand China and learn how to effectively do business with them. I thought he made very good points about the western world not understanding China and other developing countries because we haven’t had to for so long. We have become accustomed to making other adapt to us. It’s time we learned to adapt to other countries and make an effort to understand them. This will make business much easier for both sides. I also liked how he explained the differences of the state in China vs. the Western world. The state in Chins is a civilization state, not a nation state. It is viewed as a patriarch of the family. It has been around for over 2000 years and this history is deeply ingrained in the culture. This makes them a very unified culture and unity is a very important concept. Most importantly, we can’t try to understand China using a western lens. It doesn’t work. Just because developing countries are modernizing doesn’t mean they will westernize. This is a new concept and one that we are going to have to grasp if we are going to truly understand these developing countries.

• 25. J Vail  |  March 14th, 2011 at 12:23 pm

  This was a very intriguing video and it made multiple thought-provoking arguments. I think one of the best quotes would be when speaking about the consequences of Chinas rise; “…and the second implication is that the world will inevitably as a consequence become increasingly unfamiliar to us, because it will be shaped by cultures and experiences and histories that we are not really familiar with”. I think what a lot of Americans take for granted (myself included) is that our own history has influenced a lot of histories around the world, but we don’t consider how other cultures have shaped our own. With China surpassing our economy, we have to realize that it is our time to take the back seat and get ready to deal with not being the world’s largest buying power anymore.

  I think what a few other people mentioned is important to consider when thinking about Chinese culture – the amount of time it has been around for. We all reminisce about the revolution, pioneer days, the great depression, etc, for the longevity of our culture, when meanwhile China as a nation had been around for a millennium before that. The phraseology behind China being a ‘civilization-state’ and not a ‘nation-state’ is something I am going to remember as well.

• 26. Anthony Kallioinen  |  March 17th, 2011 at 7:44 pm

  The Chinese even invented golf!

  This is my second to last post and probably my favorite blog of them all. Martin Jacques did a fantastic job of summing up the differences between China and the West, and the implications this will have on the future. His extremely simple, yet profound ideas were eloquently presented and back up other things we have learned in this course. He really grabbed the audience’s attention by showing the Goldman Sachs projection of when China would surpass the US with a larger economy. Basically, our days are numbered and we must make the appropriate preparations to be ready for how the world is going to change. China will be the world’s superpower, not us. He dispelled very well the myth that as countries modernize, they Westernize. This has only been the case in the past and it will not happen with China. I feel like he hit the nail on the head when he said that the West has not had to know much about other cultures, and that much of the rest of the world has not been represented nor had a voice. Now that they will have more influence in the future, our lives are going to change quite a bit.

  We cannot think about and try to understand China in Western terms – the 3 building blocks he suggests for trying to understand China:

  + China is not really a nation state, it is a civilization state. This means that China is shaped by its existence as a civilization state and not as a nation state and that unity is the most important political value is unity. This is something that Susan Shirk has also talked extensively about. Unity is how China survives as a civilization; they are one civilization with many systems, and that is their approach to Taiwan.

  + The Chinese have a very different conception of race. Over 90% of China’s population thinks that they are Han Chinese. This is because the government has pushed the idea because the ‘Han’ identity is what has cemented the people together over the last 2000 years. Everything ties back to unity.

  + Unlike the West, the Chinese government enjoys more legitimacy and authority. The state in China is given a special significance as the guardian of the civilization state and is left unchallenged. This allows the Chinese to see their government as the head of the family. This is much different than the Western mentality – government is for the people and by the people!

  I like how he finishes. He talks about the current Western attitude towards china – one where we think that we are better and one where we are ignorant. What we have to understand is that China understands the rest of the world better than we do. The world will begin to become increasingly unfamiliar to us. Many of us are very ignorant of how the world is changing. We must wake up and educate ourselves about this issue!

  Mr. Jacques did a very interesting thing. In the beginning of his speech, he showed the Goldman Sachs projection to wake up the audience. This put China into perspective very quickly. He also does this at the end with the great illustration of the two ships – the Chinese one and the one that Christopher Columbus used to cross the Atlantic Ocean. I love the mega bus idea, this is the future!

• 27. JP Salazar  |  March 18th, 2011 at 12:14 am

  Martin Jacques has a unique outlook on what fundamentally makes China what it is today. In his talk, he made a comment about how China was changing the world in two regards that I found very interesting. With the Chinese economy projected to surpass the economy of the United States in 2020, it will be the first time ever that: 1. The economic leader of the world will be a developing one. 2. The economic leader will not be a western nation. This really shows how we are entering an unprecedented time where our preconceptions about growth, politics, and culture are being put to the test. China’s unbelievable growth is bringing attention to the vast potential it has in its political and economic power. It is also proving that economic growth does not lead to westernization. China is here to play and they are here to stay.
  This video really got me thinking about how different China is from the US. Jacques talks about the three core concepts that define Chinese culture and politics. 1. Their customs are rooted in 2000 year old traditions. They are shaped by their sense of civilization, not nation. 2. They have a very different conception of race. 90% of the people think of themselves as Han and this is the cement that holds the community together. Because of this, they do not have a good outlook on cultural differences. 3. Power is constructed differently in China. While in the US, the government derives its power from the people, in China the state is the embodiment of the nation. The state is seen as a member of the family.
  People do not truly understand China. What’s worse is that most take no effort to do so. China is staged to become one of, if not the, leading powers in the world. As this occurs, Chinese policy is going to have more and more of an effect on people’s everyday lives. It would seem beneficial for people to try to understand not just the policies of China, but what those decisions are based on. China is not a developed, western nation and as such requires different techniques in order to work with it. Going back to a previous blog post for the English Corner, I find it interesting that students in China know so much about US history and policy while most American students are rather clueless on both domestic and Chinese policy. I think there needs to be a more concerted effort for young people to be exposed to Chinese culture and their growing power in global economics and policy.

• 28. Omar Pradhan  |  March 18th, 2011 at 3:10 pm

  I really enjoyed this TED talk because it was a nice review of some of the big themes we have been exposed to thus far in the course. I certainly need to spend more time thinking about the paternalistic cultural predispositions of the Chinese people. Perhaps this explains why the Great Firewall isn’t such a big deal to most. I also need to spend more time trying to make sense of the race issue and whether that necessarily maps onto the race issues we understand in the west. According to Jacques, the 90% Han racial identity and make-up of the country is what accounts for his perceived “troubling” manifestation of “cultural superiority.” However, the cultural superiority observation doesn’t harmonize with the English corner observations made in earlier posts. I like his point about the west believing that legitimacy of authority comes from democracy whereas in China, the state is seen as a “spiritual” guardian of the racial and cultural purity. Again, I wonder whether his assessment accurately maps onto the younger Chinese growing up with greater exposure to western culture (e.g. mobile smart-phones, online news / entertainment, fashionable consumption, etc.). Either way, I do take the point that Jacques makes about us westerners: we are, by in large, failing to genuinely appreciate the cultures of the east and this is rapidly becoming a problem because the world is increasingly becoming influenced & shaped by the developing world (e.g. Copenhagen, G8->G20, etc.).

• 29. Grant  |  September 29th, 2011 at 9:11 am

  While I do not have much experience with China, it would seem that most everything he sets forth is reasonable. But he does seem to leave out a brewing problem, which I will discuss in a minute.

  I found it an interesting comment that never before has a developing country been the largest economy. As I consider that comment, it must be able to do so for a couple of reasons. First, it can only become so if it is a very large population, which is obviously true, and second, there must be a high level of income distribution across the high population, which I’m sure is the case.

  The second point that I had not previously considered was the recognition that they are less of a nation-state and more of a civilization-state. I was a little confused as he said that their number one political goal was “Unity”, but that they recognize their nation has different civilization populations, such as the Taiwanese and the Tibetans. It would seem that they would want to assimilate Taiwan and Tibet into the “Han” culture. Perhaps this is one of those examples that as soon as you try to define China with a rule, then an exception immediately jumps up.

  I absolutely agree that the west is arguably one of the least cosmopolitan cultures in the world. As I travel internationally, I am always intrigued how much the world follows our politics. I am also saddened by how little our culture cares about what happens elsewhere in the world.

  I think that he left out of his discussion a issue that most of the world is facing. Despite the fact that the west is losing its dominance as an authority, western culture is pervading the youth worldwide. It seems to me that in the future, the west will have less direct authority, but the authority that the rest of the world will assert will look more western than it does today.

• 30. Stephen Allison  |  October 9th, 2011 at 8:20 pm

  Yep some big cultural differences between China and where I am from, California.

  1) Government as patriarch. Most people I know don’t even trust the government.
  2) Race. In my sociology classes in college we were taught that race is only as real as we believe it is, and that once we are aware of this we can begin to realize that race is non-existent.

• 31. Vladimir  |  December 13th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

  Martin Jacques’ presentation brings up some building blocks relevant to the economic future of China. However, I see it as more of an introduction to these important distinctions, than a prediction of the magnitude of their effect on the future.

  Here’s what I gathered from his charts and some quick Wikipedia research:
  Today the GPD per capita is about $7,500 in China vs $47,000 in the US (in 2006 US dollars). In 2020-2025 those numbers are expected to be $14 k for China and $59 k for the US. In 2050 the forecast is $54 k for China and $86 k for the US.

  While China has been a civilization state, will it continue to be as much so as it modernizes? Unity may have been their most important political value for millennia, but will modernization challenge this? Lack of multiculturalism may help sustain unity, but I also think it depends where the extra per capita GDP will go. Will it be taxed away or will the citizens have a higher standard of living, with more money for outside interests?

  The relationship between the society and the state may also change as the per capita GDP increases. We need to consider the source of the increase. If the number of entrepreneurs will increase, will they want or will the state be able to play “head of the family” to them? The entrepreneurial mindset is probably not compatible with “The state is the head of my family” thinking.

  The video bought up some ideas I need to keep in mind as I learn more about the Chinese economy. But I would need to have a better idea of what the economy of China will be like in the future to judge their impact.

• 32. Jeffrey Brown  |  December 16th, 2011 at 2:59 pm

  I really enjoyed how Martin Jacques described the western view of China and broke down the three building blocks of how they should be viewed differently. I agree with most of the video but feel compelled to cite a few assumptions Jacques made that may be problematic to the outcome of his argument.

  First, it was assumed that China will be the dominant economy by 2020. With China growing so fast, much can change in one decade. We cannot say that China will not have an economic breakdown similar to that of the United States years ago, a move that originally caused China’s assumed domination to occur in 2020 rather than 2050.

  Secondly, I agree with a comment on Dan’s blog post about the opposing view. The comment stated, “Does China WANT to rule the world?” We do not know if China wants to be the dominating economy, we are only assuming that they do. If in fact they do, we cannot state that the way they make business deals will not become more western. This brings me to my third and final comment.

  My final difference in perspective is not really based on an assumption; but rather, our western view of China may not entirely be our fault (nor may it be completely incorrect, either). As China grows it is a fact that it is becoming increasingly western. I believe China’s westernization (not much unlike our own) is what we see from an outsiders point of view. While it is true that China will always hold true to their strong beliefs of unity, racial dominance, and the notion of state being supreme, how we do business with them is becoming much more western as China grows. As a result, it is important that our view of China grows with China, otherwise we may view them in a state that is far too primitive than where they actually are at.

• 33. Daniel Fleek  |  December 19th, 2011 at 10:14 am

  Being from east Asia and having a mother who is from Japan, I understand what he means when he states that people in east Asia have a much better understanding on American culture then Americans on East Asian culture. I agree with Jacques when he says this is because the West has influenced them with our powerful military and economic powers. However, when I go back to Tokyo, Japan to visit my family, it is evident that people over there are also fascinated by American culture. This is mostly a product of Hollywood and our overall diversification which has produced spectacular human beings. In fact, an American with blue eyes and blonde hair or an American who is over 6 foot 200 pounds will be idolized in the East with people on the streets taking out their cameras to get a photo of them. In this way, America has an advantage to the East with our race diversification which Jacques mentioned since it allows us to bring together diverse backgrounds to find the best solutions. However, it is also true that with less diversification, people will tend to feel like they belong to their group and that there will probably be less tension amongst the groups. In this regard, things can get done more quickly to progress their nations. Overall, I think Jacques has done a great job portraying the changing world through open eyes and makes a great point in that the West must learn East Asian culture in order to keep up with the rise of power in the East.

• 34. Kevin K.  |  December 19th, 2011 at 12:05 pm

  I find it interesting that the title of this TED speech is “Understanding the rise of China” when speaker Martin Jacques lists more reasons why we don’t understand the rising superpower than how we can understand it in the future.

  Yes, there is a great ignorance shared by many Western Civilizations regarding China and Asia as a whole, however, is it enough just to pose the question: “Can we understand China?” Jacques does a great job describing differences between the two cultures and posing this question, but I feel he does not do enough to answer it — if it has an answer at all. Perhaps just getting us thinking on this topic is his goal — or perhaps his phrasing of China’s rise as a threat is supposed to instill the fear of being eclipsed by the fragmented country as soon as 2020. Don’t get me wrong, China has amazing resources, but like all of us, it is still trying to figure itself out.

  In the end I felt as though his projection of China overtaking the world was bullish and forceful, and in a sense he is trying to make us fear for our wallets more than sincerely wanting to understand a large group of fellow human beings.

• 35. Charles Dornbush  |  December 19th, 2011 at 1:36 pm

  Martin Jacques lays out many interesting points about the rise of China and how it differs from the rise of the West. I agree with his main point that as developing countries like China and India rise to prominence many Westerners will need to aquatint themselves more with these countries’ culture and history. It is unwise to think that China and India will “Westernize” as they grow larger and more developed.

  Jacques also showed that China is already taking the lead in technology of the future through high-speed rail and other projects. It is expected for China to invest a lot in advanced infrastructure because of the rapid urbanization of its population. Perhaps it will be America and Europe seeing what does and doesn’t work in China over the next 50 years, instead of the other way around.

  Finally, the quick growth of the Chinese economy is surprising. I knew China’s economy was growing fast, but for China to overtake the U.S. economy by 2020 seems remarkable. However, Jacques simply states this projection without any context of what it will mean to the world, which is basically nothing. China has more than four times as many people as the U.S. Chinese output and wealth per person is nowhere near U.S. levels and still won’t be when in 2020 or in 2050. Jacques ignores the fact that on a per capita basis China is way behind the U.S. and may never catch up.

• 36. Ashley Tyra  |  January 23rd, 2012 at 5:11 pm

  In his talk, Martin Jacques gives a quick overview of the essentials to understanding China. It is important to familiarize ourselves with a country that is growing rapidly, and could possibly surpass the economy of the United States in 2020. Jacques also noted that China is the first country to lead the world economically while still in a developing state.

  He makes the distinction between the cultural differences of China and western countries. One main point is that China is one civilization that has many ways of running itself. Jacques believes that however developed China becomes, it will not become westernized. Also, he states that the Chinese have a very different conception of race. Most of them believe they are part of one race, and they believe in its superiority.

  As westerners we need to recognize the disconnect between us and other cultures of the world, and takes action to mitigate our ignorance.

Leave a Comment

Name Required

Email Required, hidden

Url

Comment

Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed

The posts, comments and/or views expressed on this trip blog, whether by a Cal Poly student or faculty or an outside guest to the blog, do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of Cal Poly, the Orfalea College of Business (OCOB), any of the OCOB's graduate programs and/or other students who participate in the trip.