March 17, 2005
Dr. David M.
Lampton
Dean of Faculty
George and Sadie Hyman Professor and Director of China
Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies
Topic:
Thinking about China and What It Means for America.
One of the most
knowledgeable scholars of Chinese affairs, Dr. David
M. Lampton, offered a realistic analysis of today’s
China. His began by speaking about China’s domestic
issues. Here, he pointed out the basic problems
that the Chinese leaders are confronting. China, he
remarked, is the most rapidly urbanizing society on
the face of the earth. Another grave problem that
China faces is the increasing inequality of capital
income—in the Coastal area, $3,000 (mainly around
Shanghai), the Central band, $800 (around Peking),
and the far West (including Tibet), $100. Still
another problem is the rampant corruption in
government circles and in the business world. These
are the main reasons, our Speaker pointed out, why
Chinese leaders do not need additional problems in
the world.
China has become
the third largest economy in the world and is
building the world’s largest middle class,
ironically under so-called Communist leadership.
This creates still another of their huge problems.
Dean Lampton also
briefed the Executive Lecture Forum members about
China’s growing military power. “China has
switched,” he said “its strategy of trying to keep
the enemy off its continent with a large military
force.” Now, China is building up its navy and air
force, mainly because the Chinese Communist leaders
are considering Taiwan as their last unfinished
business; and that issue, if solved by military
means, needs a modern navy and air force. On the
other hand, Taiwan has become increasingly dependent
on the mainland. At the same time, the United
States has a security commitment to Taiwan that
could drug the United States into conflict with
China, if this problem is not carefully managed.
