The Chinese Mirage: Why Soft Power Matters

It’s inevitable. The People’s Republic of China will overtake the United States as the world’s leading economy. This statement is no longer speculative. It is a fact.

China is now the world’s second largest economy. Americans are worried that China will control the financial and military affairs of the world, but the true indicator of authority in today’s age is soft power: how countries use persuasion, rather than coercion, to change behavior.

No developing nation ranks in the top ten countries in terms of soft power. It is determined through a combination of objective factors—such as number of Olympic medals and foreign students—and subjective ones—such as business brands and quality of life. A recent National Intelligence Council report found that China’s economy would surpass that of the United States before 2030. China has already begun to take over its competition in recent years. It has surpassed Europe’s largest economy, Germany, and has become Asia’s largest economy.

On the other hand, China also has an unsustainable growth model, which heavily depends on investment. It essentially takes the money out of the household sector and places into the hands of any investor with a bank account and means of establishing a small business. In this sense, China’s largest economic asset is not its labor force but its capital.

It has invested in foreign companies, infrastructure, and real estate all around the world, but it fails to show one thing that advanced economies do, despite their slower economic growth rates: originality. In other words, China’s economy is driven primarily by production rather than invention.

Innovation is yet another facet of soft power. Yes, iPhones, Xboxes, Kenmore dishwashers, and Gerber bottles are made in China. But they are not conceived there. These products are invented, patented, and sold by the U.S.

These products have an American nationality even though they were created in China. And American products like these continue to sway the world and its desires in favor of the U.S., even if China may benefit from them economically.

Yet, China does have the capacity to be more influential than the U.S. It is just that the circumstances surrounding China’s success are more economically driven than they are socially focused. In fact, looking back at history that is the case for practically any country that has seen success, whether it was Great Britain in the 19th century or the US in the 20th century.

These nations faced social issues while experiencing unprecedented economic growth. Therefore to  blame China for neglecting social issues while praising other countries for their social insight is not necessarily justified. Nevertheless China must not only focus on its economic power.

One of the biggest factors that plays into China’s increased economic productivity is that it has become the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer of goods and commodities. China has averaged a 10 percent economic growth rate over the past 30 years. It has also become the largest manufacturing economy of the world. Its unemployment rate is below seven percent, and the average Chinese citizen makes about $6,000 a year. China also leads the world in cotton and steel production, as it surpassed the U.S. it in 2010.

Yes, the list of recent Chinese accomplishments goes on and on whether it is a larger economy or higher academic achievement.

But how is it going to be better? Economic superiority does not necessarily mean complete dominance of world affairs. At the end of the Cold War, the U.S. was seen as the owner of the secret to the good life.

It was a life that everyone wanted—one more alluring than the one Communism could provide. The Soviet Union was economically successful but failed to provide a standard of living equivalent to that of America’s.

The U.S. will continue to be the world’s most influential country in the near future regardless of its slip in economic prowess and has been the country with the greatest soft power since the term was conceived 22 years ago (with the exception of 2012, in which Great Britain ranked number one).

The impact of American companies around the world is evident across the globe. People continue to drink Coca-Cola, eat at McDonald’s, and wear Levi’s. China may indeed one day have the greatest economic outpu, but it won’t have anything that matches the compelling stories of Hollywood, or the symphonious music of New York music labels, or even the global appeal of U.S. social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. It may never experience the level of free expression that is available in the U.S.

It’s possible in the future that China may exert power in the dominion of social dynamics. But for now and for many years to come, the U.S., through soft power, will hold the distinction as the world’s most influential country.

Shahrukh H. Khan ’17 is a Crimson editorial writer in Canaday Hall.