"China in the World": A Reflection

By Luca DiFronzo

December 5, 2014

Over the course of the semester, my group and I researched and reported on several events or issues concerning the People's Republic of China and its growing role in international relations, specifically as it pertains to US interests. In our first post, we discussed the general course of US-Chinese relations, tracing them from the emergence of the modern Chinese state in 1949 to the contemporary age. As we explained, this relationship has fluctuated from overt animosity during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, to a lukewarm friendship recently based on common economic goals. We then moved on to the Chinese military, and specifically its increasing missile capacity and the fear US leaders feel over this ability. Next, we discussed the frequent bouts of cyber-espionage the Chinese government both carries out and falls victim to, taking particular care to show that the Chinese are both perpetrators and victims in some circumstances. Lastly, we discussed the monumental environmental deal that China and the US signed just this November, its economic effects and how those will translate to the natural world, and what more there is to be done. I think it's safe to say we learned a lot about China in the last few months!

Our process for researching and crafting our blog posts was far from perfect. Besides an uneven distribution of work, our group also fell victim to the most common of university student ailments: procrastination. Despite our downfalls, however, I like to believe we produced quality work with each blog post, trying to be as objective and informative as possible. As time passed, we found a system that worked for us. The week before a blog post was due, we would all begin research separately, trying to pick up on interesting and important topics (an easy feat when you're dealing with the worlds' two superpowers!). Then we would come together to discuss our findings, agree on a given topic, and delineate who would write what. One person would be assigned the task of bringing everyone' s individual write-ups together into one cohesive blog post, and we would meet up shortly before the blog was due to take one final look at everything. As I said earlier, this process had its flaws, and I believe we would have produced a higher quality product if we wrote the whole thing together, but that couldn't be arranged with everyone's schedules. Considering our limitations, our method of drafting the blog posts was about as effective as we could make it.

It would be impossible for me to reflect on everything I learned throughout this project, I think it's safe to say that the most important thing I learned--or perhaps, was reminded of--was the infallible truth that differences in national identities and race don't change the fact that we are all human. We all desire a clean environment, a healthy economy, privacy and security, and to feel protected by our government. Looking back at the subjects of each of our blog posts, it becomes evident that these primordial human necessities were at the foundation of each of the issues or events we discussed. In other words, this blog was an indirect way to highlight the humanity of every type of peoples, a shared humanity which we all possess simply due to the fact that we are living beings with similar desires.

This project was also a great lesson in group dynamics! I'd be lying if I said there weren't times when I wanted to scream at every single person in my group, but it's just as truthful to say that we all grew closer in the process of writing these blog entries and that we all came to recognize one another's strengths and weaknesses. How amazing that a school project could have such profound, enriching effects on our personal lives!