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And the Ukraine is just 500km from Vienna. I don't dispute China is a developing country, I just think a lot of westerners don't realize how huge and - in parts
by ido 8y ago
And the Ukraine is just 500km from Vienna. I don't dispute China is a developing country, I just think a lot of westerners don't realize how huge and - in parts - how developed it is.
People hear "China is a developing country" and think it's comparable to countries like Bangladesh or Cambodia. But the tier-1 cities and their peripheries are not some tiny enclaves of wealth like Singapore, they are huge - bigger than major European countries.
The fact that poor/undeveloped areas are relatively nearby does not make them less developed than the fact that Moldova and Kosovo are in the EU's backyard make Germany undeveloped.
- seanmcdirmid 8y agoChina is upper middle income, so its wealth is comparable to Mexico, Brazil, and Thailand. Now, many people don't really get how rich those countries are either (e.g. many Americans think Mexico is an undeveloped struggling place when they are biased by a borderlands and illegal immigrants that are very different from the rest of Mexico).
- dis-sys 8y ago> Ukraine is just 500km from Vienna those are two vastly different independent countries. > how developed it is can we just cut all cheap talks and focus on undisputed facts and numbers? the undisputed facts here is extremely simple - 1. China's official GDP per capita is well below world's average. 2. The research in the OP article shows such official figure is highly inflated. You can keep painting China as "developed" or "developed in some selected areas", the above undisputed facts won't change. Hundreds of millions of Chinese live well below the world average standard when it comes to their economic lives. Selectively ignoring the real life situation of hundreds of millions just to back what you believe is not that convincing.
- ido 8y agoCan we have a more subtle and less one-dimensional discussion? I'm not claiming you are wrong.