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Here Comes China

Spanish Translation

By Andrea Delbanco

Liu Li has never met anyone who wears the clothes she makes. The young rice farmer's daughter works at a garment factory in the southern Chinese city of Kaiping. She stitches the seams of winter jackets that will be sold in the United States. Surrounded by the noise of sewing machines, Liu tries to imagine the people who will wear the coats. "They must be very tall and very rich," she says. "Beyond that, I really can't picture what their lives are like."

Most Americans would find it just as hard to picture Liu's life--or the amazing changes that are transforming her country. Over the past 17 years, China has become an economic powerhouse. Chinese consumers spent some $600 billion in 2004. Millions of lives, including Liu's, have changed beyond imagination.

Getting Down to Business
China's relationship with the U.S. has also changed. Last week, China's President Hu Jintao visited the U.S. On Tuesday, he toured the offices of Microsoft, in Redmond, Washington, and met with the company's founder, Bill Gates. On Wednesday, Hu visited the giant aircraft company Boeing. Then he headed to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with President George W. Bush.

Hu and Bush have already met five times since Hu became China's leader in 2003, but this was Hu's first trip to the U.S. He and Bush had much to discuss. At the top of the agenda: ways to ensure that trade between China and the U.S. benefits both countries. Last year, China made $202 billion more on goods it sold to the U.S. than the U.S. made selling goods to China. Many of the clothes, toys and shoes available in the U.S. are made in China.

"We should respect each other as equals and promote closer exchanges and cooperation," said Hu on the White House lawn. Hu explained that closer ties between the U.S. and China would "bring more benefits to our two people and the people of the world."

Friend or Foe?
China's journey to modern life has been a long and troubled one. The country began opening up to the outside world about 150 years ago. Since 1989, China's leaders have reformed the country's economy, opening it to trade with other nations. As a result, China is enjoying more prosperity and a growing role in world affairs. The economies of China and the U.S. are more closely linked than ever. China has billions of dollars invested in the U.S., making the Asian giant an important economic partner. Two weeks ago, China's Trade Minister Wu Yi signed contracts worth $16 billion with Microsoft, Boeing and other companies. The American retail chain Wal-Mart operates 51 stores in China, and plans to open 20 more this year.

But China is also a business rival. U.S. businesses complain that Chinese companies illegally reproduce American products, including clothing, CDs, DVDs and computer software. Chinese companies increasingly compete with American businesses for important resources such as oil, steel and iron. Many experts expect China's drive to expand outside its borders to continue. American business leaders hope that China will compete fairly in the future.

What will China's rise mean for the future of the two countries? "Will we inevitably be enemies?" says Richard Haass, a U.S.-China expert. "No, it's not inevitable."

"The United States and China are two nations divided by a vast ocean yet connected through a global economy that has created opportunity for both our people," Bush told Hu last week. For each country, finding common ground will require a clearer understanding of each other. For now, President Hu and President Bush promised to work together as each tries to find that common ground without giving up his nation's best interests.

Go
Take a virtual voyage through China at timeforkids.com/china.

Think!
Why is it important that both China and the U.S. benefit from trade?

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