China Keeping Watch

Article/Text title: China: Keeping Watch
Source/Year of publication: http://www.economist.com/node/21590099/comments#comments Author: The Economist
Date: November 23, 2013
Category
Commentary
Main points
(Explain the three main points the article is talking about)

The author starts off the article with the idea that China is heading towards becoming the most diplomatically powerful nation. He gives statistics showing that, in approximately one decade, China will become the world’s biggest economy. He goes on to state that in 23 out of 39 countries, people believe that China will overturn America as the dominate nation superpower.
The second point the author makes is that it is natural for a growing economy to go hand in hand with growing political power. The author gives examples including how greater wealth means that a better army could be developed, and that there is more accessibility to influence by foreign-policy interests.
The author uses the previous two points to lead into the third main idea: Although China’s economy is rapidly rising to the top, it doesn’t seem as certain that China will surpass the US diplomatically. The majority of the article is spent explaining how American cannot be easily thwarted. He comes to the conclusion that China poses no current threat to America, but that the greatest threat is that several other countries are following in China’s footsteps economically wise.
Purpose for writing:
(Why is the author talking about the three points above?)

The author’s purpose is to evaluate and expand upon the idea that China might overthrow the US as the most powerful nation. Throughout the article, he gives reasons as to how this could be possible and then he counters those reasons.
New Knowledge:
(What new knowledge does the author create by writing this article?)

At the end of the article, the author talks about how China is only one example of what’s happening in several other countries-Turkey, India, Brazil- and that the competition occurring between all these might be the biggest threat posed to the United States’ powerful position. China overturning the Unites States might be a common thought, but this is a new perspective.
Method used:
(What type of article is this: persuasive, informative, etc.? – Provide reasons for this)

This article is persuasive because the author uses factual information including statistics to make his point. The author’s opinion is also widely used throughout the article as he tries to support his argument. Evidence is used to try and justify why China will not overthrow the United States as the number one powerful nation.

Article:

China: Keeping watch
As is well known by now, China has got richer faster than any large country in history. In 1980 its share of world output was a paltry 2.2%; within a decade it will become the world’s biggest economy, with a share of roughly 20%. In 1980 China still lived behind a wall. Today it scours the world for raw materials and sends out manufactures of every kind in return. It is most Asian countries’ largest trading partner. Its diplomacy is funded by a seemingly endless supply of billion-dollar contracts. “If this isn’t a world-altering shift,” writes Jeffrey Sachs, an economist, “it’s hard to imagine what would be.”
All too often, this economic transformation is taken to mean that the world will turn on its head. In 23 of 39 countries surveyed by the Pew Research this year, most people thought that China has or will take over from America as the dominant superpower. China is suspected of patiently plotting to take all the jobs, steal all the secrets, sabotage the world economy, attack Taiwan, buy up Africa. The question rarely asked, though, is how exactly China will convert its vaunted economic miracle into geopolitical power. As the party leaders in Beijing appear to understand, the answer is anything but straightforward.
It is only natural that China is becoming more assertive. Growing wealth sharpens

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