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An enlightening Xmas

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-25 07:45

Maybe this is not quite what Mao Zedong had in mind while composing the magnificent poem Kunlun in 1935.

In his poetic fantasies, the romantic internationalist in the depth of his heart wanted to cut the imposing Kunlun mountains into three, one to be left to Europe, one presented to America, and another reserved for the East. So that "in a world of peace, the entire globe shares the cool and heat".

If the warm feelings of a world under one roof are not that keenly felt these days, we do feel the wintry chill as the world shivers in recession. Few in this country seriously celebrate Christmas. Some do spend and dine out more around Christmas. But that has little to do with who was born this day ages back.

But this Christmas season is different. Not that the holiday is being taken as it is in the West. But people here are finally feeling the financial cold fronts from afar. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, as well as the rescue of the American Big Three automakers, is not simple foreign news anymore. Nor is the bad news about Western customers tightening their holiday spending budgets.

As overseas buyers skimp, we hear reports of factory closures and mass lay-offs on our own soil. A truly international economic crisis, which used to be discussed in textbooks as something unique to capitalist economies, is now threatening to drag us into the mire. And there does not seem to be any easy way out.

To keep the once-robust economic locomotive on the fast track, the Chinese government has unveiled a $586-billion stimulus package. But let us face it, nobody knows for sure how much longer the international troubles will persist.

So here we are, at the center of a highly globalized economy. We can encourage domestic consumers to spend more generously to make up for the loss in overseas markets. We do have an enviable reservoir of savings deposits. But that is more theoretical than practical, at least before sound social security guarantees dispel the lingering sense of uncertainty in the average consumer. Which means we will continue to count on overseas consumers to sustain our growth momentum.

The stakes are too high for China once the world economic downturn perpetuates. For us, it is not only a matter of moral obligation, but to a certain extent an inevitable move of self-protection, to actively participate and coordinate with international rescue endeavors.

If there are any misgivings about our involvement in such attempts, let this Christmas season enlighten us about the dependence of our economy on that of the world's.

Some of our compatriots are not feeling well today exactly because some others oceans apart from us cannot afford an otherwise more enjoyable Christmas.

Let us wish a very merry Christmas to all.

(China Daily 12/25/2008 page8)