China rising

Despite its increasingly secure place in the world, the People's Republic of China remains dissatisfied with its global status. Its growing material power has simultaneously led to both greater influence and unsettling questions about its international intentions. China also has found itself in a constant struggle to balance its aspirations abroad with a daunting domestic agenda. The news broadcast network Al Jazeera has featured a four-part documentary essay on the multiple facets of China, aiming to explore the rise of a very old nation in these later modern times. The following text is taken from the Al Jazeera webpage where the documentary series is presented.

After centuries of western dominance, the world’s centre of economic and political weight is shifting eastward. In just 30 years, China has risen from long-standing poverty to being the second largest economy in the world – faster than any other country in history. From angry farmers to weary migrant workers, powerful politicians and everyone in between, what China says and does, has become of undeniable importance to the entire world.

Although no other country in history has risen so quickly from poverty to prosperity as China has, for many in the world's most populous nation, those advances have come at a price. The economic reforms that made the People's Republic's rise possible have also led to a harshly divided China. Divisions whose impacts could easily spread from disenfranchised individuals to threaten the economic growth contemporary Chinese society has come to be based upon. In the opening episode of this four-part series, the stories behind these divisions are told, from the rising urban middle class to impoverished rural areas and the precarious existence of hundreds of millions of migrant workers on the fringes of some of the world's fastest growing cities.

From the ruling Communist Party to filmmakers and bloggers, more and more people in China are looking to get their voices heard. As blogs look to exploit their political potential and grassroots protests and mass incidents continue to increase in numbers, we analyse  how the country run and how do the people get their say. In the second episode of China Rising , a closer look is taken at how the people of one of the world's most powerful, yet closed states, manage to reach the masses. We interview authors who struggle with censorship and self-censorship, and examine the country's thriving film industry, which seeks to top Hollywood.

Following the revolution of 1949, legislation regarding equality was passed, which was a huge step forward for China at the time. And the economic reforms of recent decades have further improved the lives of women, yet it is the only country in the world where more women than men commit suicide, according to the World Health Organisation. So, as China surges forward, how will society change and what role will the new generation play in this new global powerhouse?

China's economic role in the world is growing at a record pace, and it is also now a key player in world politics. The country has no doubt become a global manufacturing giant, but how will it deal with issues on the home front such as increase in pollution and water shortages? Although it has been confronted with tough environmental problems, efforts are being made to solve these. In the final episode of this series, through a range of interviews from Africa, the EU, the US, and China, one tries to find out how China is positioning itself as a major global player.

Throughout the past three decades East Asia has seen more peace and stability than at any time since the Opium Wars of 1839-1841. During this period China has rapidly emerged as a major regional power, averaging over nine percent economic growth per year since the introduction of its market reforms in 1978. Foreign businesses have flocked to invest in China, and Chinese exports have begun to flood the world. China is modernizing its military, has joined numerous regional and international institutions, and plays an increasingly visible role in international politics.

[Ref.] http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2013/05/20135113835681245.html