Is China leaning to Capitalism?
472167
In total agreement with the two really long answerers, yes china is embracing capitalism, but they really want foreigners to invest in china and make it favorable for these "foreign capitalists" to come invest.  The lifestyles of the majority of the people in china (especially rurally) has not changed much in the last 20 years.  Publicly they call it "socialism with chinese characteristics".\n\nThere is a select bunch of leaders who make the decisions on just HOW capitalist the economy will be, WHERE it will be capitalist, and so on.  Most of those areas that are "chosen for capitalism" are the ones that can be seen by other countries (ie. companies and regions that specialize in "export-only" products and services).  Sadly, a significant part of the country has yet to experience the fruits of this "modernization drive"
730629
Most people go along with whom ever informs them; since capitalism is dependant on a mass of ignorants to rob for the benefit of one person, it is in that persons interest to apply the best marketing and 'spin' that money can buy to convince lesser minded poorer people that capitalism is the way.\n\nIn fairness it is the way if you desire a very selfish world where your aim is to impoverish friends and family for materialistic gain(cause if you don't do this, another capitalist will).\n\nMost all the capitalist that I know, are really just very mis-informed socialists that have had their feeble minds convinced that their relative poverty makes them a capitalist because they have a little money.  This protects those with serious money.\n\nI think BOTH systems are idealist, two extremes of life that need each other.  The rich should not allowed to be SOOOO rich and the poor should not be SOOOO poor.  The world should be less selfish and realise that we need each other and can work together for a common good, so that we can ALL be comfortable!\n\nFrance and England (to name but two countries) have had socialist Governments that improved the lot of ALOT of their population, we are not talking communism here (china for example), we are talking SOCIALISM!\n\nIt is interesting to note the answers above that claim capitalism a success, these people either don't leave their private islands to experience what happens in the REAL World, or have really been got at by REAL capitalists, pleeeease people, come on......wake up; you think a few thousand makes you a capitalist?  The club is a little more exclusive than that and taking advantage of YOU!
400405
Although China still and the most of the outside world refers to the country as a: "communist state" very few people would agree that China fits that definition.  \n\nThe Modern day government in China is more like an Oligopoly in which a group of politically well connected people run a totalitarian government while allowing it's people to engage capitalist market activities.\n\nTrue communist nations that embrace the economic system as much as possible as well as the ideology of big government control are: North Korea and to a lesser extent Cuba.  I say to a lesser extent when refering to Cuba because they have allowed tourism and slight free market reforms in order to prop up their economy.
278022
you guys seem misunderstanding of China!\nyes, it's not a democratic country, it's being. \nyes it's still a Socialist country, the gov claims, not the people. and all the society are pursuing economy growth, at a price of environment pollution, energy waste,etc every developing country could meet.\nthe labors care of better life and the up-classes care of open and fair social air.\nyou may say it's not what you like, it's improving.\nyou all label the communist with devil but Chinese think it a too perfectly ideal fancy to be reality. So they low their eyes to pave their way for a better life.
978884
The regime collased in Russia.  China's regime is strong.  And they're Communist in name only.  Communism means no private capital, no private profit.  But I myself have owned shares in TWO Chinese companies, one of which I sold for a profit and both of which pay dividends.  That's capitalism!  They're too embarrassed to admit that they abandoned Communism years ago, but they did.
477802
I think China is trying to be part of everything.  A new mix of Socialist, Democrat, Republic, whatever just like a cocktail.  Not sure about the taste since I have never tried.
406042
In China, we are more likely to observe a transitional process through a broad spectrum of social arrangements. This will likely move slowly enough to prevent the kind of strife we have observed elsewhere. Expect China to remain mostly socialized for a very long time.
337851
China is not Communist. A free market society cannot be called Communist. \n\nWe trade with China because the market is massive, and while they are a reason for trade deficits, it is simply too large to ignore. Also making them dependent upon us lessens any chance of armed conflict.\n\nWe don't trade with Cuba because the US uses it as a scapegoat and tries to argue it supports human rights by attacking Cuba on its behavior. We can ignore Cuba. We can't ignore china.
444564
The economy and middle class are indeed growing at a fast pace in China, but the majority of Chinese still live the way they did 30 or 40 years ago.  I think the chinese government is trying to slowly convert the country into a capitalist - or at least a french-style socialist - society without making the mistakes Gorbachev made in USSR 15-20 years ago.  Time will tell if they succeed, though there are rumors of increasing discontent in the rural areas.  The same thing happened in the US in 1920s - right before the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.  Hopefully China will not suffer the same fate.
648440
i don't know, but china is under communist rule, and i think it's corrupt and absolutely stupid...
95504
One more thing: in my view, a communist government is superior to a capitalist system in war time. A communist country has a lot of parallels with the military: its organisation, mindset, allocation of resources etc...yet at the same time, a lack of violent protests when bodybags start coming home (just look at the casualties in the wave attacks they used to employ - see the film Enemy at the Gates?)...\n\nWith regard to ground troops, a lot of the numnbers you see are part of their paramilitary public security force (basically your police), and are relatively untrained in modern combat. Most of this force is defensive - however, this will probably change as China is seeking to project its presence around the region in the coming years. \n\nAs of this moment, the PLA's offensive capability is rather limited. The main stay of its air force is still based on the aging soviet warplanes, while the majority of its navy (with the exception of the Sovremenny Class destroyers carrying the sunburn missles) is ancient. The PLA is trying to build its own light carrier but this is estimated to take at least another 10 to 15 years. However, be mindful that superior technology is not everything: The US has not won any war in Asia since WWII....\n\nBTW, one of the people who answered your question stated that the PLA is undefeated other than the First Sino-Japanese war. This is incorrect on 2 fronts: (1) The PLA was formed only after 1949, before that, it was the communist party and Chiang Kai Shiek's Guomindang army. Both of these fought against the japanese but it was mainly the Guomingdang that faced the Japanese due to georgraphy; and (2) the PLA has fought a number of border wars with Vietnam in which they came out No. 2. \n\nMore importantly, look at it this way: China has been stepped on by the Western powers for the past 200 years (imagine your country losing a war and then having to give a lease of your land to other nations - Hong Kong, or have one of your cities split up among other countries - see Shanghai in the early 1900s). \n\nI believe that the country is basically not your aggressive war mongering nation from its historical actions (they prefer to bribe and make money rather than conquer by force). However, it has learnt the hard way that a country with a weak military force can and will be bullied by others. \n\nIn this modern day and age, a purely defensive force is insufficient for a country with ambitions to be respected internationally. \n\nMy view is that China is not only building up its defensive capabilities but also upgrading its offensive capability to counter potential threats like Taiwan (Taiwan has stated that it will flatten Chinese cities if it is invaded), Japan (historical reasons), the US (if they come into the picture on the Taiwan front) and maybe even North Korea (a belligerent & strong North Korea is not necessarily in China's best interest). \n\nAny large country with the ability to do so will do the same (see the Indian Army - ex russian aircraft carrier, Mig 29s as mainstays etc)
217871
This is a very good question - I have been thinking of the same issue myself. It is obvious that the Chinese government wants the financial center of China to be Shanghai rather than Hong Kong, as they have direct control over that city. However, Hong Kong is a rich city with the know-how and funds to match...so Hong Kong must find its own new place in the New China order to survive. \n\nMost Hong Kong companies know that their future is with China and most of their business comes from the mainland. Will Hong Kong position itself as a "Beverly Hills" for rich people or try and muscle in as a financial center in its own right?\n\nI am interested to know as well
528084
for communists, the chinese are damn good capitalists.\n\nBut to get to the point, China was a large military and the US doesn't think they need it.\n\nChina thinks it has the right to sell arms to whomever it pleases. The US disagrees (let's not forget that the US sells arms to damn near everyone)\n\nChina wants to be the Dominat nation in East Asia. The US disagrees because that would knock Japan of its pedestal.
392469
"Contribution?" He started it, at least in its form as a backlash against capitalism. His idea was that the state would a better source of capital, since it could allocate scarce resources rationally, rather than at the whim of small groups of men (at the time) who acted for narrow profit purposes rather than the good of society as a whole. He was right, but there was never a state that was not corrupt, so one way or another, a small group of men wound up being the major beneficiaries of communism. The west developed controlled capitalism, which was working all right until the neocons decided to eliminate any semblance of control over capitalists.
569143
You HAVE noticed it is not about countries anymore, have you?\n\nThe U.S. is not competing with anyone. Big corporations - with support from free market governments - have allowed China to set the world standards of cost and quality of many INDUSTRIAL products and of employee productivity in general. Other economies will suffer for this. \n\nChina is now the Latin America and the Southeast Asia of the 70's and 80's and 90's. Why would the government of a free market country want to kill the golden goose of modern day industrial corporations?\n\nI think you should be more concern with China having so much interest in U.S. treasury bills!!!   50%, my friend.
461784
Greed. Again.\n\nOf course the internet and software gaints wouldn't call it greed; they have a responsibility to their share holders. But after all it is Greed, how ever they want to justify it. I am sure they tell themselves, it is a small price to pay considering that technology like theirs will likely contribute to the down fall of the current Chinese regime.\n\nThe real irony is that China (a "communist" country) is using capitalism to fight its dissidence; Meaning china uses McGoohoo's Greed you reinforce its anti-dissidence program! I don't find that very Communist. But then again is China truly communist?\n\nThe real question is, what do we do about it?\n\nDo you suggest a boycott?\n\nI don't remember the last time I wrote Google or Yahoo a check. And sure Microsoft got some of my dough, but I try to keep that to a minimum.\n\nThe bigger problem is China. They are a giant America has worked hard to keep at bay. Trade packs during the cold war for example. But every time we try to appease them, we give them more power, money, etc.\n\nI am disgusted that we have sent all our factories over there. I can't find anything any more that isn't made in China. We read articles about prisoners being harvested for body parts, mass pollution due to lack of regulations, their tech spies dissecting "our" technology so they can build knockoffs for cents on the dollar. They suppress human rights and democracy, and continue to fix their currency with ours.\n\nChina needs regime change.\n\nBut how do we support this without starting WW3?\n\nPersonally I think we need to start having some expectations from our number one trading partner. If they want our money they are going to need to play by our rules.\n\nBut another problem is, what are our rules? We seem to be the dirtiest bastards on the planet these days (and the days before these days).\n\nMy favorite is: Regime change starts at home.
62529
I corrected this as much as I could, everything that I corrected or suggested changing is in caps)  Also, it looks more like 3 paragraphs to me.\n\nIf we are there for oil,(WHERE IS THERE?) THEN think of it as a Monoploly game only the real estate is oil. China is a country that has a history of cheating and not doing honest business. What makes anyone think they will be honest allies in the future? They will BE as long as it benifits them. AN EXAMPLE IS, when they buy our debt so we can buy their stuff.\n\n Cnooc tried to buy Unical this year. They are trying to take over and BUY ALL OF the oil they can as is everyone. The only thing, however, is they are growing so strong that they DO actually pose a threat. I think the occupation in Iraq is defense. (IS THAT RELEVANT ABOUT IRAQ?) China, as we saw with CNOOC last year, is ALSO trying to buy everything. \n\nWe are just making sure our energy is secure, if it isn't, then we could be over taken and over thrown buy China, Russia, Iran, etc. That is the terror. We took care of our self interest and took a serious jerk out of power. What is wrong with that? Our military wants to be there or ANYWHERE else we send them to protect us.