EQ2: what are the impacts of globalisation for countries, different groups of people an
cultures and the physical environment?
Global Shift: refers to the outsourcing and offshoring of industry through foreign direct
investment, to Asia since 1980.
- Individual Asian countries allow overseas companies access their markets open
door policy and special economic zones.
China
- The global shift into China has mostly focused on manufacturing.
- China has been the world’s largest recipient of FDI since 2000.
- Rapid industrialisation has led to rapid urbanisation particularly those cities by the
coast Shanghai, Hong Kong.
- These are the effects of the global shift to emerging countries
Benefits of rapid growth
- Investment in infrastructure.
o China had developed the world’s longest highway network.
o Longest high-speed rail system.
o As well as a magnetic levitation train world’s fastest commercial train
service.
- Reductions in poverty.
o Growing middle class. This has also increased consumer spending.
- Increases in urban incomes.
o Urban incomes have increased sharply since 2000. Driven by both economic
growth and slower population growth.
o Every year there’s a growing rural-urban divide.
- Better education and training
o Education is free and compulsory in China between the ages of 6 – 15.
o 94% of Chinese over the age of 15 are literate.
o The growth in higher education has helped create a skilled workforce for the
Chinese economy’s expanding knowledge and service sectors.
o However, there still is a big rural-urban divide.
Costs of growth
- The loss of productive farmland
o Despite increased food production, China’s industrialisation has led to an
increased loss of farmland since 2000.
o Over 3 million hectares of arable farmland has been polluted with heavy
metals.
o 12 million tonnes of grain were polluted in 2014.
o Increase use of fertilisers and pesticides has also led to farmland near rivers
(used for drinking water) being taken out of production.
- An increase in unplanned settlements
o China’s rapid industrialisation gas created an urgent need for urban housing.
resulted in a big increase in informal homes.
o Land prices has rocketed and made decent housing unaffordable. Particularly
near city centres.
o 2 types of informal housing have emerged both illegal under Chinese law: