The China-US Economic Relationship

The China-US Economic Relationship China and the United States, as the two largest economy groups in todays world who own more than 30 percent of the worlds GDP, have the ability to decide and change the destiny of world economy. The United States has been dominating the worlds economy for a long time as the only superpower after World War II. It has the most powerful currency, US-dollar. The US dollar is the worlds main reserve currency and settlement currency. Most of the oil trading is done by USD, and USD is the only currency that links to gold. The worlds new-star of economy, China, rose since the ending of last century. China has surpassed Japan and become the second largest economy of the world in 2010, two years after its achievement of becoming the largest holder of U.S. debt in September 2008. It is now the largest goods producer of the world, and also a hypo-power in East Asia. The financial crisis last during last four years has proved that it is unsafe to let only one country determine how the world economy should go. China and the U.S. should be working together to ensure the stability of world economy. The relationship between the United States and China is strong, and they are all depending on each other. Chinese goods are demanding greatly by U.S. customers because of its low prices. As the result of the global financial crisis, the U.S. had to lower the value of its debt to due to the bad economy, but this also made the relationship between China and U.S. became unstable. Economists suggest that the relationship has contributed a lot to both countries. In 2010, the U.S. goods trade relation with China hit a record high of $273.1 billion. (Roya and Christopher) China as a large but not well-developed country, while rich in labor and resource but lack of capital and the technological capacity, seeks foreign investment and technologies to help its development. US have the most advanced technologies in the world and a large capital flow in the market. The US and China was naturally a perfect match. US can provide the financial and tech support in exchange for Chinas cheap products and resources. Both sides have benefited in this arrangement. For China, the benefit is not only in the direct investments made by American companies and firms, but also in the massive amount of daily products that are sold to most American people. The growth of Chinas economy is majorly from exporting. For Chinas rising in last thirty years, it is fair to say that the U.S. has played an important role and contributed a lot through trade. From 3% in 1990, the imports from China has grown dramatically for the U.S., 19.1% of U.S. imports in 2010 were from China. And automatically, China became indispensable as an import source for the U.S, from eighth in 1990, to fourth in 2000, to second in 2004-2006, and then to the first in 2007-2012 (Morrison). Chinese trade has grown tremendously, from $20.6 billion and 0.8% of the world total in 1978 to $2.97 trillion and about 7.8% in 2010. Compare to Germany, Japan, and the United States, China has huge advantages on its low-cost labor, growing technology and undervalued currency. These advantages let Chi nese goods have much lower prices than the others. That is the reason why China became the worlds largest manufactured goods exporter. (Brown) As for US, the benefit is obvious. Chinas relative low-cost advantage makes it focusing on producing labor-intensive goods, and thanks to the vast, seemingly unlimited Chinese work force, people in US can purchase Chinese made shirt for a fraction of the price of a US made shirt at a relatively same quality, and its not only the shirts, its almost everything. And for most American companies it was good too. Many companies can benefit from the huge Chinese labor force and Chinese markets. U.S. imports of low-cost goods from China greatly benefit U.S. consumers, and U.S. firms that use China as the final point of assembly for their products, or use Chinese-made inputs for production in the United States, are able to lower costs and become more globally competitive. (Morrison) All in all, it would seem like a win-win for both China and America. While China is getting many jobs from companies from United States, U.S has been experiencing high unemployment rate for years. There are voices from some of the media or even politicians claim that outsourcing to China is one of the major causes for high employment. But in fact, outsourcing actually sustains American jobs in a long run (Zhu). This can be illustrated by a simple example. If China can make a cellphone more cheaply, it makes more sense to import cellphone from China than make it domestically. Such transaction actually is good for both sides, brings real incomes, with added growth in the exporting country, and lower prices in the importing country (Economist). When the price of cellphone becomes cheaper, there will be more people can afford them than before, which is good for the market. Consequently, more cellphone related jobs such as maintenance and communication services are created. Therefore, more free trade between China and the U.S. can increase jobs instead of decreasing them (Yi). By analyzing trade and industry data, statisticians have discovered some fact. They find that job dislocation is not majorly because of outsourcing and offshoring in the manufacturing and service. They find the real causes of job losses were weak domestic demand, rapid productivity growth, and the dollars strength which dampened U.S. exports (Baily and Lawrence). U.S. consumers has greatly benefited from importing low price goods from China, their purchasing power has been increased. This also helped the United States maintain at a low inflation rate. Actually, trade with China has helped directly or indirectly to create jobs in the United States, and this is much more important. The U.S. merchandise trade deficit has increased from $1.7 billion in 1986 to $295 billion in 2011 (US Census Bureau), because U.S. imports from China have risen much faster than U.S. exports to China. The U.S. trade deficit with China has kept growing rapidly during the last quarter century. At present, trade imbalance is huge between China and U.S, 43% of the U.S. trade deficit is accounted for by China. And it is one of the major concerns in U.S. China relation. The U.S. deficit with China is the major part of U.S deficit. It was larger than the combined U.S. trade deficits with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the 27 nations that make up the European Union (EU27), and the 10 nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (Morrison) The connection between China and U.S will be even stronger in the future. They will continue to benefit from each other. They are both the most important market to each other. Trades between these two countries will increase even more and create more great opportunities for businesses in both countries. As the two strongest economic powers in the world, if China and U.S keep the win-win strategy, they can ensure the growth of global economy. Work Citied Baily, M. N. and Lawrence, R. Z., Dont blame trade for US job losses. The McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 1. 2005. Web. 9 Nov. 2012 Brown, A.S., Manufacturing at the crossroads. Me-Magazine., 2010. Web. 13 Nov.2012 Karabell, Zachary. Can an Eagle Hug a Panda? Time. Nov. 30, 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2012 U.S. Census Bureau. 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2012 Wu Yi. WSJ: Its Win-Win on U.S.-China Trade. Council on Foreign Relations. May 17, 2007. Web. 11 Nov. 2012 Wolverson, Roya, and Alessi, Christopher. Confronting U.S.-China Economic Imbalances. Council on Foreign Relations. November 2, 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2012 Zhu, Zhi Qun. China and the United States: Learning to Live Together. Centre for World Dialogue . Spring 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2012

Problems Faced by International Students

International students are the ones that are coming to study in a foreign country or foreign educational institutions. Andrade Snow defined the term â€Å"international student† applying to the UK as individual enrolled in institutions of higher education who are on temporary student visa and are non-native English speakers. However, Bamford gives a definition which differs a little bit: â€Å"The term ‘international students’ is taken here to mean those students who have been educated in a national education system outside the UK and who on the whole are likely to be non-native speakers of English, although this is not necessarily the case. (Bamford, 2008, p59) In the latter definition there has a little difference from the first one. It mentions an insignificant, on the face of it, feature – mother tongue even though it is one of the toughest challenges anyone going abroad might possibly face – language barrier. Over the past several years, the nu mber of student going to study abroad has been gradually increasing. United Kingdom became one of the most popular destinations of international students to head to. According to statistics provided by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and later used by Angela Harrison for an article in BBC news, their quantity increased by 32% from 2005 to 2010 and 1. 64% from 428225 in 2010/2011 to 435235 in 2011/2012. New coming international students in the United Kingdom are most likely to find it challenging to adapt to newly arising problems such as homesickness, language problems and adapt to new surroundings, academic culture and lifestyle. The very first thing every student notices when coming to study abroad except for the different language, if this is the case, is the difference in culture and the way of living. For the most people arriving in the UK the greatest shock is the right hand side driving. However, those are not the most important difference for the one’s seeking for education in Great Britain. Academic culture in the UK does not generally match the one of their motherland’s. The main emphasis here is made on self-work and trying to understand the material rather then doing main aspects during lessons or lectures and a student being given all the information needed and just being asked to memorise it and be able to answer the questions correctly. Therefore we can come to the conclusion that there is a different system of learning in here to which foreign students have already got used to. One of the key aspects is the interaction between a teacher and a student. In most countries teachers give all the information needed to the student and then gives out assignments to be completed. In the UK, however, it is all up to a student. Teachers are there only to guide students rather than do all the work for them. One can always rely on the tutor to ask for any questions a class might have and advice what literature they should read in order to succeed instead of giving a fixed list of books to read and set of questions to answer. The latter one is commonly used in such educational systems as the one’s of ex-USSR countries alongside with learning things by rote. It might be quiet hard for the freshers to get used to the whole new style of learning material. Some of the students might even try to get back to the skills and schemes they acquired back at their home countries in order to cope and keep up with the current work but generally the experience of students shows that it is worth trying to get along with the new ones they are given. Mainly because new skills they are being taught are adjusted especially for the particular learning schematics used in the United Kingdom. There is no doubt that approaches towards learning vary from country to country. The only obvious solution is for an educate to get along with his or her situation and try to make best of the hits he gets from the tutor without bearing against them and carrying on with what is already familiar. â€Å"To accommodate students' learning styles, teachers need to apply new management techniques for the classroom which they can learn in Diploma in Holistic Education Programme. † This is a piece of advice, given by Prashing Style Solutions, in order to make it easier for students to adapt with any different learning styles to the ones they are already used to it. One of another probable complications to arise is the problem of homesickness. Leaving family, friends, and a home culture in pursuit of an academic opportunity abroad, international students frequently find themselves simultaneously grieving for missed persons and places, building new social networks, and adjusting to new cultural and environmental demands (Chen, 1999; Mori, 2000; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). And according to a research conducted at Warwick University, â€Å"up to 70% of students will experience homesickness in their early days at university. It is a normal part of the experience of leaving home. However, even mild homesickness deserves careful attention. It is a reminder of our need to respect our physical and emotional needs at a time of stress. Yet, for some people the results of homesickness are quite disabling, and need additional support from parents, friends or professionals. † For someone this might be the first experience of being abroad alone without family and friends. This might be a critical strike for someone as this leads to a fall in academic life as well. Homesickness is known to bring about such problems as emotional bursts, loss of concentration and will strength to do anything, reticence, problems with sleeping and nutrition, sadness and in some cases even mental disorder. Such feelings as loneliness, depression and the illusion of being pressurised by peers also derive from homesickness. This instability makes people an easy target for bullies and offensive jokes. All the surroundings and even the environment around might seem to be hostile. Everything to what a person has got used to is gone in a matter of a second. We can tell that homesickness occurs when a person leaves a supporting social life back home, and at a sudden finds him/herself all alone in a new environment missing that support as well as he/she is away from it, which makes it hard to decide to just step back into it (Beck, 2002). A solution to this problem might be trying to find new friend in order to have someone to whom a person can always talk to. Generally, people are trying to find some of their co-nationals and stick to them as it makes their stay easier and more pleasant even though it has an influence on their productivity (Tompson and Tompson’s 1996). This is not the only reasonable category of choosing new friends. It is a good idea to join some social clubs and find people who have the same interests and passion so that you have some common ground lest not to feel lonely, gain confidence and lessen the amount of tress and psychological problems. And what is more, all the modern technology available at our hands makes it much easier to communicate with friends and relatives left overseas. Last but not least, nearly in all the cases there is a problem of a language problem. There is no doubt that language is one of the most important problems, as most of the students come from non – English speaking countries. As a consequence, there are difficulties at expressing oneself and understanding others present. Struggling with language usually means an increased amount of time spent on accomplishing. Moreover it makes it harder to integrate into the society. Even the University of Leeds Language Centre’s research states that international students enter the University with different levels of proficiency in English and varying degrees of familiarity with British academic and social conventions, which makes the odds of getting on with others uneven. Trying not to be shy and communicating may be a way out. Getting into conversations and practising helps out. Even though it will probably be scary at the beginning, practise makes things perfect. It is also highly advised by psychologist to face one’s fears in order to overcome them. Other than that it also may be useful to make use of such tools as cinemas and television. Media is not only a mean of entertainment but also a tool to be used in order to enhance the level of language possessed. Academic journals and books can come in handy to enrich one’s lexicon with academic and specific vocabulary, which is generally a necessity for succeeding in studies. In the conclusion, it is not a point of argument that most of the students coming from abroad to study in the United Kingdom are going to experience anticipated problems, which, however, can be easily avoided by taking counter – measures. It is always good to remember why you chose this path for yourself and made a first step by moving to a different country. If it still is a hot issue for you and you can’t find a solution on your own, the rational answer will be to find someone who has already fought down same problems or to speak to people assign to specifically help people with those matters.

Smokers in the U.K. and U.S.A. and the Treatment of Social...

Smokers in the U.K and U.S.A and the treatment of social pariahs In recent years, antismoking campaigns has increased due to the harmful effects that are caused by smoking. People smoke not caring about the consequences that it has not only on them, but also on other people. In the U.K and U.S.A, campaign might or might not be effective. This essay seeks to illustrate the cause and effect of antismoking campaigns, T.V advertising, campaigns against smokers not being allowed N.H.S treatment, and the ban of smoking in public places and also illustrating the reasons why similar campaigns will not be effective in Saudi Arabia. First, the causes of antismoking campaigns and T.V advertising will be discussed. Then, the effects of these T.V advertising and antismoking campaigns will be demonstrated. Finally, the reasons as to why similar campaign would not be effective in Saudi Arabia will be analysed. There are many reasons as to why antismoking campaigns and T.V advertising are growing and expanding worldwide. Smoking does not only affect health, but also affects the environment and non-smokers. The first cause is health. Many individuals smoke not caring about the harm and dangers that it might do to them. Some argue that they are physically addicted to smoking and others are just ignorant about the whole thing. Smoking can cause harm to a person’s body. It can cause fatigue and worsen activities which acquire walking, jogging, and other physical activities. For example,

Cross-Price and Own-Price Elasticity of Demand

The Cross-Price and Own-Price Elasticity of Demand  are essential to understanding the market exchange rate of goods or services because the concepts determine the rate the quantity demanded of a good fluctuates due to the price change of another good involved in its manufacturing or creation. In this, cross-price and own-price go hand-in-hand, conversely affecting the other wherein cross-price determines the price and demand of one good when another substitutes price changes and the own-price determines the price of a good when the quantity demanded of that good changes. As is the case with most economic terms, the elasticity of demand is best demonstrated through an example. In the following scenario, well observe the market elasticity of demand for butter and margarine by examining a decrease in the price of butter. An Example of the Market Elasticity of Demand In this scenario, a market research firm that reports to a farm co-operative (which produces and sells butter) that the estimate of the cross-price elasticity between margarine and butter is approximately 1.6%; the co-op price of butter is 60 cents per kilo with sales of 1000 kilos per month; and the price of margarine is 25 cents per kilo with sales of 3500 kilos per month wherein the own-price elasticity of butter is estimated to be -3.   What would be the effect on the revenue and sales of the co-op and margarine sellers if the co-op decided to cut the price of butter to 54p? The article Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand assumes that if two goods are substitutes, we should expect to see consumers purchase more of one good when the price of its substitute increases, so according to this principle, we should see a decrease in revenue since the price is expected to drop for this particular farm. Cross-Price Demand of Butter and Margarine We saw that the price of butter dropped 10% from 60 cents to 54 cents, and since the cross-price elasticity margarine and butter is approximately 1.6, suggesting that the quantity demanded of margarine and the price of butter are positively related and that a drop in the price of butter by 1% leads to a drop in the quantity demanded of margarine of 1.6%. Since we saw a price drop of 10%, our quantity demanded of margarine has dropped 16%; the quantity demanded margarine was originally 3500 kilos — it is now 16% less or 2940 kilos. (3500 * (1 - 0.16)) 2940. Before the change in the price of butter, margarine sellers were selling 3500 kilos at a price of 25 cents a kilo, for a revenue of $875. After the change in the price of butter, margarine sellers are selling 2940 kilos at a price of 25 cents a kilo, for a revenue of $735 — a drop of $140. Own-Price Demand of Butter We saw that the price of butter dropped 10% from 60 cents to 54 cents. The own price elasticity of butter is estimated to be -3, suggesting that the quantity demanded of butter and the price of butter are negatively related and that a drop in the price of butter by 1% leads to a rise in the quantity demanded of butter of 3%. Since we saw a price drop of 10%, our quantity demanded of butter has risen 30%; the quantity demanded butter was originally 1000 kilos, whereas it is now 30% less at 1300 kilos. Before the change in the price of butter, butter sellers were selling 1000 kilos at a price of 60 cents a kilo, for a revenue of $600. After the change in the price of butter, margarine sellers are selling 1300 kilos at a price of 54 cents a kilo, for a revenue of $702 — an increase of $102.