China Becomes Free Market Powerhouse
Williams recently retired after 35 years of service to the New Jersey state college system. He has been a dean, and was the Director of International Programs, where he developed semester and yearly academic travel programs for undergraduate students for the state of New Jersey.
“My interest in China began when I took my first trip in 1982, when China was just starting to experiment with the free-market economy,” Williams said.
After his initial trip, he went back twelve more times.
The lecture was inspired by China Wakes, a 1994 book inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte who said, “When China wakes it will shake the world.”
“China is now certainly awake, raising living standards quicker than any other country in the world,” said Williams. “A baby born in Shanghai is expected to live in 76 years, 2.2 years more than an infant born in New York City. A newborn baby is less likely to die in its first year of life than in New York City.”
“A child is more likely to read if it grows up in Shanghai than New York City,” Williams added. “If you doubt this, I highly recommend you call Mayor Bloomberg, because he is desperately trying to get the New York City schools back to the standards of about 40 years ago.”
In a special millennium issue on Dec. 30, 1999, Time magazine proclaimed that Shanghai would challenge New York as the center of the world in the 21st century.
“Today Shanghai is arguably the most dynamic city on this planet. Any traveler with the taste for tomorrow must experience Shanghai a city with an extraordinary history – present and future,” Williams said.
“The grand neoclassic buildings are the most ‘un-Chinese’ among the skyline. The shores of the Wangpoo River have long been the symbol of the hundred years of foreign domination of Shanghai,” he said. “These grand neoclassical buildings are still visible today but they are shattered by the more than three-hundred skyscrapers of today’s Shanghai.”
The latest records indicate that there are more than 2,800 buildings that are eighteen stories or higher in the greater Shanghai area.
The most spectacular development in China has been in Pudan, north of Shanghai. In 1982 Pudan was rice patties and swampland, but now it is epitomized as the Shanghai of tomorrow. “Bold, confident, and utterly focused on the way Hong Kong was when it reached its glory days,” said Williams.
“The Mao building was completed in 1999. At approximately 1,381 feet, it is the tallest building in China and the third tallest building in the world. However, the construction is well underway for the 1,509 foot, 94-story Shanghai World Financial Center which will be the tallest building in the world when it is completed in another two years,” continued Williams.
“China has a state-of-the-art newly created high speed magnetic levitation monorail. From the airport to downtown Shanghai this 22 mile trip takes seven and a half minutes compared to the 30 or 40 minutes by taxi,” he said.
“In 1992 China began the “big build.” They built 800 miles of expressway and it reduced commuting time by fifty percent. During this same time Boston created an eight mile stretch of highway, and they are still not done yet,” Williams said.
“China has highly motivated hard working labor – one of the benefits the multinationals did not expect when they expand today. They didn’t need nearly as many supervisors for Chinese workers.” Claims Williams.
China also has 16 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world because of their reliance of coal for energy. It is hoped that the dam will help reduce their dependence on coal.
