China's Development Model

Originally posted by Infose: ↑

China was a country with a command economy and a colossal reservoir of cheap labor living in rural areas and what they did was to invite the world to come in with its capital and modern technology to exploit that, initially through the creation of four special economic zones to be operated under the capitalist mode of production and for exports.

In a sense one can describe it as an economic model similar to what is called industrialization by invitation.

Strategies of “industrialization by invitation” in the Caribbean | 18 (taylorfrancis.com)

Decades ago, I heard a CEO of an American company asking this, which I think encapsulates the essence of the matter and its effects in the USA to this day including the emergence of Trumpism.: Why should a 16-year-old school dropout expect to have a car and a house when what he could do could be done in China at a much lower cost? .

Sorry, but the question is not about whether or not China benefit from such model of economic development, but whether or not such model could be, as suggested by you, imported to Australia, and my answer is no because for a starter we do not have an abundancy of underemployed people ready to move from our rural areas to any special economic zone dominated by foreign capital looking for cheap labor.

Microsoft Word - Surplus_Labour_final2.doc (anu.edu.au)If you are looking for a better economic model than our current one there are a few available and below is a reference to one of them:

"The economy of Singapore is a highly developed free-market economy with dirigiste characteristics1. Singapore has been ranked as the most open economy in the world, the joint 4th-least corrupt, and the most pro-business1. Singapore adopted a state capitalist approach to economic development and nation-building2. This means that the government enters into business to create employment and generate profits2...

...Singapore relies on an extended concept of intermediary trade to entrepôt trade,[30][31] by purchasing raw goods and refining them for re-export in order to sustain its high levels of export-oriented industrialization,"

As to my comment that you found offensive, my apologies.

Expand

Im not suggesting that the entire Chinese model (economics/politics etc)
should be emulated by Aus...just a modified version of Chinese SEZs.
(By the way China did not invent SEZs. there existed many globally before
China gave its SEZs "Chinese Characteristics)

For Example the Republic of Ireland in the mid/late 1950s set up their own
SEZs the most notable was Shannon. The design parameters then was
to isolate manufacturing areas fro the rest of the country's red tape, encourage
manufacturers to set up shop (mostly German) so that these SEZs would reduce
emigration /unemployment and add to the country's trade balance which then was critically negative.
The chief objective was jobs, jobs, jobs.

Our SEZ needs are different from China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia or the ROI in that
we are exposed via our economic dependance on China on its economic wrath, That
exemplified when China bunged crippling sanctions (tariffs ) on our ag, some coal products
due to ScoMo's banning Huawei from our NBN, the gazumping of Victoria's partial BRI membership
and ScoMos blame of China (Trumplike) of Covid.

have chosen now to not join China's BRI and China's policy is to source its materials and target
its investment at BRI member countries which, IMO, over the longer term leaves us out in the cold.

So the purpose of Aussie style SEZs should be to downstream some of our raw mineral and energy
resources into products with high added value to that we can radically diversify trade away from China dependance.

The other option is the US model: That is to throw $Billions of Taxpayers future funds (more US Sovereign Debt)
to subsidise private enterprise to manufacture within the USA. Aus simply can't afford to emulate this ; hence
the need for SEZs specially designed to exploit our strengths (oodles of minerals & energy and customer FTAs)
and to counter our weaknesses (multinational ownership of our resources in the ground, over-cooked regulations
and a crippling tax system) Notice that "jobs, jobs, jobs, are nowhere here. With hi-tech/AI /robitised manufacturing
don't really need grunt labour...perhaps some engineers/metalurgists and specialist managers employed as
guest workers within the SEZs.

Not alone will these projects allow us to protect our sovereignty (whether from US or Chinese economic interference)
it will add Billions to our trade surpluses and prop up our Peso. And the social dividend...do a Saudi Arabis...radically
reduce personal income tax or at least lift the personal tax free threshold from $18,200 to $45K (minimum wage)

So we simply dont have to copy China, or Singapore or Saudi Arabia or the Irish Republic ; but instead design, own
and operator our own to meet our unique needs and to benefit all Aussies in the process not to mention our Sovereign independence