William Kirby, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and
Sciences, introduces the topic of integrating China into the world
economic system by offering a historical perspective before tying
the topic to present-day events.
One could have spoken of
integrating China into the world economic system two hundred years
ago, according to Dean Kirby. He says that both tea and opium,
major commodities of the era, gave China a very
important role in global economic activity
through the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, Dean Kirby asserts,
it was the idea of opening China up economically that caused
disagreements over other matters, leading to the Opium Wars of the
1840s and 1860s and culminating in China's utter openness in the
late 19th century.
According to Dean Kirby, China is economically
open once again one century later. The 20th century
internationalization of China has been impressive, with its movement
from a Confucian society to one based more on capitalist ideals. The
country's years of isolationism (1960 to 1972) serve as an exception
to China's international engagement in the 20th century. Dean Kirby points
out that the roots of China's current economic miracle date back to early 1980s when China opened its economy to Europe.
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