China today, in the middle of change
A new openness to the world
The Chinese have come out of their self-imposed isolation of the second half of the 20th century, and opened themselves up to the world in a spectacular way over the last 20 years. They only started welcoming individual tourists in any number less than 30 years ago and today everything is in place for everyone to have a good trip.
In fact, the Chinese have an extraordinary capacity for change, as you can see from their history. In just a few years they have managed to put in place lots of things to help travelers when they arrive: more and more English "subtitles" in transport, English is spoken in big towns and cities, the railway and airline networks are very efficient, they understand more about what westerners want and how they behave, etc.
A huge economic power
Certainly China has the biggest currency reserves in the world. And certainly it is still the world's leading exporter. Nevertheless, the 2009 world recession did interrupt the country's continual growth pattern. Visitors don't notice it too much at first sight. However, one thing is sure, Chinese growth decelerated to only 7.6% in 2013. The lowest level since the 1990s. But the country is trying to find solutions to the problem, and in October 2013 created a new free-trade zone to the east of Shanghai. This one allows foreign companies to operate. So it is easier to create a business there. If you are interested....
China is continuing to recover and is very dynamic. The same applies to its endemic corruption. It seems to have lessened considerably since the arrival of the new team in power. Before, for example, it was possible to obtain favors from some policemen by bribing them. Today, it's become much more difficult: don't try it, you risk spending some time at the police station! You have been warned...
Some small social advances
Growth is continuing and the change in management has encouraged hopes for further change and reinforced Chinese confidence. But the country is still developing at two different speeds. On the one hand, the deregulation of the economy by the government has meant some people have become very rich. On the other hand, it is forcing emigration from the country to the cities. In order to survive, these workers have to take short term jobs.
But in the last few months and years some social progress has been made. In fact, it's no longer so easy for those in power to make opponents disappear, or to fire at will on demonstrators. The world's cameras are turned toward events in China, some of the workers' grievances were heard in the west when there were widespread strikes, and multi-national companies don't want their image tarnished by a scandal in a local factory. These social advances may be small and slow but at least they exist. And even though a Chinese worker's life doesn't have much to recommend it, it has improved a little over the last 2 years.
China's sovereignty: still a lot of conflicts
Don't forget either that there are still a lot of political conflicts: Tibet, Uighur minority revolts. Some of them play an important part in international Chinese diplomatic relations.
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Among them - even if it's rarely talked about - China's claim to sovereignty over two states: the People's republic of China ("China") which covers 98% of the population and 99.6% of the total land mass, and the Republic of China ("Taiwan") which represents less than 2% of the population.
Taiwan is a taboo subject in China. I strongly recommend that you do not mention its name in public. The two entities are waging a sort of cold war which does not encourage exchange. On the other hand, it is possible nowadays to go to China after you have visited Taiwan. Even though the authorities can see the "enemy's" stamp on your passport, it doesn't cause problems.
