thank you February 1979 and the Paramount leader of the People's Republic of China is taking in a rodeo dung Xiaoping is the first Chinese leader ever to tour the USA after 30 years of isolation communist China is suddenly back on the international stage and dung is making it clear that they're ready to embrace the world economically he doesn't know it yet but that approach will work beyond all expectations [Music] the population of China is huge 1.4 billion people more than North America South America Australia New Zealand Scandinavia and all of Western Europe combined according to the Chinese government nearly 16 of the population lives in China's 15 mega cities each with a population of over 10 million there are only 47 such cities in the world as of 2018 China is responsible for 18.6 of global gross domestic products it exports 41 of the world's computers 34 of all air conditioners and a whopping 70 of the world's cell phones China has become a global economic Powerhouse how did they pull it off and why was the rest of the world so slow to notice China's rise to the top [Music] during World War II China and America are stored allies in the battle against Japanese Imperial aggression and like America China throws itself into mass production on an epic scale somewhere in China a blanket Factory in full blast three thousand women working with hand looms weave the blankets for the Chinese Army but after fighting the Japanese China is torn apart by a brutal civil war between the U.S backed nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Army and its leader Mao zidong in 1949 Mao sweeps to Victory establishing the People's Republic of China [Music] in Mouse China everyone is to share in the wealth and that Collective Community will be represented by the state also China is to be completely self-reliant in terms of Finance food and goods [Music] no more stock exchanges and no more diplomatic or economic relations with the capitalist West China and its 542 million people will be cut off from the rest of the world [Music] to modernize his largely agrarian Mega Nation Mao encourages millions of peasants to leave their farms and work in factories and to make sure no one has a problem with that he launches the cultural revolution punishing dissenters by ordering them to re-education camps paramilitary groups attack Bourgeois intellectuals many cities are close to chaos at least a million die meanwhile China suffers from widespread famine a corrupt infrastructure and a busted economy it's largely ignored by the rest of the world in 1960 China's economy is worth 59 billion dollars a figure dwarfed by the United States economy worth 543 billion dollars [Music] but in the early 1970s America decides it's time to win over Mao taking advantage of a rift between him and his communist counterparts in the Soviet Union Richard Nixon becomes the first American president ever to visit China after 25 years of isolation Mao seems prepared to re-establish ties with America and Nixon hopes to encourage an american-style democracy in China [Music] but when supreme leader Mao dies in 1976 his autocratic system doesn't die with him it just takes a whole new Direction enter dung Xiaoping when dung takes China's Reigns at the end of 1978 he makes it clear that while his party is not going to relinquish any power China will consider opening up to the West if they can make a little money out of it this is the reason for dung's cheerful visit to America sending a signal to the world communist China is open for business and they start by embarking on a program of economic reform creating four special economic zones or sezs the zones will be allowed to play by different rules than the rest of communist China here factories will be able to export goods to the West and importers will be able to trade with capitalist countries the idea is that these zones will draw foreign investments and serve as many economic engines for the rest of the country and it works spectacularly just three years ago this area housed a few Villages and Paddy Fields today it is a bustling commercial site an industrial city being built from scratch China's leaders insist that these secs are just experiments in global trade they remain dedicated to the ideals of Communism and Mao one of the first special economic zones is the fishing Village of Shenzhen population 59 000. by 2016 its population swells to 12 million after increases an astounding 24 569 percent which explains why over the next 30 Years China will begin designating more and more of these development zones by 2005 China is constructing neighborhoods the size of Rome every two weeks [Music] between 2011 and 2013 China uses more cement than the US did in the entire 20th century in these early secs Factory managers take advantage of China's massive labor force to crank out huge quantities of low-cost exports and productivity goes Sky High setting up in the development Zone means tax-free profits low rents and endless cheap labor in one sec Guangdong Province one commodity rules them all toys [Music] with more than 1500 toy factories this Zone emerges as the world's largest toy production base exporting billions of dollars worth each year anywhere else this is called capitalism here it's titled socialism with Chinese characteristics socialism with Chinese characteristics is how China starts fulfilling huge consumer demand for cheap Goods in the west economically China's catching up but America is still number one between 1980 and 1990 China's economy almost doubles but so does Americas keeping it far ahead but with this opening up to capitalism China's leaders now have a problem young people are increasingly demanding more than just the right to pursue profits in the spring of 1989 in beijing's Tiananmen Square students begin leading daily protests calling for democracy free speech and a free press but on June 4th the ruling Communist Party sends the students a clear message economic freedom is one thing political freedom is something else tanks and troops are dispatched to the square and open fire on the demonstrators thank you the Chinese government never does release an official death toll but the event will become known internationally as the Tiananmen Square massacre [Music] or taking a stick to those protesting their Authority China's leaders offer a carrot to those interested in making money in December 1990 they reopened the Shanghai stock exchange sparking stock market fever Shares are on offer and for the Chinese it's a riveting new game it's a chance to be a real capitalist China is still a communist Nation but its transformation to a market economy seems almost complete a dream of money money podcast very soon what would Mal say by the end of the 1990s the signs of China's economic success are everywhere memories of the civilians killed in Tiananmen Square and the freedoms they were seeking seemed to fade as workers wages and their quality of living climb and foreign businesses rushed to set up shop to reach China's billions of consumers me on luxury items from abroad become highly coveted status symbols [Music] but most Chinese citizens can't afford expensive name brand goods from overseas the demand for counterfeit Goods emerges one that fuels a new Boom for China's manufacturers accounting for up to eight percent of China's GDP okay so here we have the new Bond DVD in fact we have the whole bond series here and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to China's counterfeit culture sometimes it feels like everyone's Faking It polo shirts Burberry scarves no Western brand is safe fake Chinese goods are finding their way around the world and sellers of the real stuff aren't happy this Chinese chocolate maker is being sued by its more famous rival Ferrero Rocher complained the product is too close for coincidence he's a Chinese member this product has been in China is normal this is just a English name is this Chinese name the thing is China really wants to join the World Trade Organization to solidify its status on the world stage [Applause] and it has President Bill Clinton's support ing the economy of China unprecedented opportunities for American farmers workers and companies to compete successfully in China's Market while bringing increased prosperity to the people in China but those counterfeit Goods become a real sticking point America insists that China's leaders crack down on copycat Manufacturing and China swears it will but as of 2019 it's estimated that 85 of all the world's counterfeit Goods still comes from China Place goes to turkey with three percent China's top five counterfeit goods are smartphones luxury brand bags Footwear sports clothes like Nike and North Face and it's estimated that 20 of Cosmetics on the market in China are fake [Music] in the 1990s the rest of the world also wants China to open up its state-controlled Market to more competition from outside they say it's not fair the Chinese government blocks Imports into China but still floods other countries with its exports again China promises to work towards balancing its trade [Music] and in November 1998 America agrees to support China's entry into the WTO earlier today the United States and China reached an agreement on the WTO this is a truly historic achievement Clinton like Nixon before him hopes that beijing's authoritarian government will loosen its grip over its people once it opens up to doing more business with the West but that rosy-eyed optimism may be what blinds foreign powers to the aggressive Juggernaut China's economy is becoming by 1998 China's economy hits the one trillion dollar mark but America is still way ahead hitting nine trillion dollars foreign [Music] in 2008 an economic crisis hits and this one is global the worst economic disaster since 1929. in the U.S more than 2.6 million people lose their jobs 1.8 million businesses shutter and 10 million homes are foreclosed in less than two years that December China is hit too as exports to the U.S dry up people just aren't buying like they used to [Music] Merry Christmas it's no laughing matter someone canceled Christmas as China discovers that all that glisters is no longer sold [Applause] many Chinese factories shut down including one Mega Factory that produces the symbol of the season the world's largest Christmas tree Factory lies derelict all around here you will find dozens of factories like this that have collapsed under the weight of empty order books and empty and rusting reminder that in the global economy the global downturn Knows No Boundaries but remember in China the state runs everything and China's new Paramount leader who Jintao isn't worried then just use the state's Deep Pockets to make up for any losses foreign [Music] with no free press or political opposition to second-guess their policies the Chinese government swiftly authorizes a 586 billion dollar bailout and Chinese factories quickly pivot from churning up goods for export to making goods for domestic consumers for China the crash of 2008 turns out to be less of a knockout and more of a glancing blow soon they're ready to rise again we found economic leverage China starts quietly investing in far-flung developing nations in Africa and Asia the most ambitious policies is called the belt and Road initiative a vast series of infrastructure projects around the globe foreign these include a 12 000 kilometer Railway stretching from ewoo in coastal China all the way to London a massive network of Highways connecting Eastern China to Pakistan's deep water ports and a 1833 kilometer pipeline that can carry natural gas from Turkmenistan across Central Asia to the Chinese border around the world China has invested more than one trillion dollars in infrastructure projects across dozens of countries this latest strategy of China's newest leader Xi Jinping really makes the West sit up and take notice is China taking over the world [Music] supporters of China's International Investments say that these infrastructure projects will lift millions of people out of poverty and create jobs in poorer countries critics say it's a land grab using checkbooks instead of swords either way it's increasing China's overall wealth at an astronomical rate by 2018 China's economy is closing in on Americas it's not a matter of if but when China overtakes the U.S the best guess is by 2025 making China the world's number one economic superpower [Music] years ago soon saw China as a struggling third world country today it's China that the rest of the world is playing catch up to most will agree that their brand of state-sponsored capitalism works when it comes to making profits perhaps even better than America's messy democratic system but history tells us nations are not built on economic success and power alone so how will China survive long term will people demand more Choice more say in their own governments whatever its future it's safe to say no say no one is ignoring China anymore [Music]