Histoire US L3 S2 : Dissertation Chine

Dissertation main points

• Introduction :globalization a historically constructed capitalistic process

• China’s integration: engine and contradiction of global capitalism

• The Sino-Amerian rivalry: a structured confrontation

• Infrastructure : the new core of global power

• A crisis of globalization : fragmentation of the world system

• Conclusion : final synthesis

introduction : globalization is a political construction of capitalism

• globalization : the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

=> not a natural or spontaneous process, historically constructed by the evolution of capitalism and shaped by strategic choices of dominant states, especially the US

• according to Benjamin Burbaumer (French economist specialized in globalization) : globalization is a poltical project launched in response to the crisis of capitalist profitability in the 1970s.

=> at that time : Western economies(US): faced declining industrial profits, rise inflation, increase competition

=> to restore profitability, capital needed to expand beyond national borders

• led to the implementation of “spatial fix”: concept where capitalism solved its internal crises by relocating production to new spaces where labor is cheaper and regulations are weaker+> massive relocation from US and Europe toward Asia,

=>China : central platform of this new global system: provided a large, disciplined and relatively skilled workforce at very low cost. => ex : allowed western multinational, as Apple rely heavily on Chinese industrial zones (like Foxconn factories) for the assembly of electronic productions.

=> value chain : globally fragmented, but production concentrated in China

• According to Giovanni Arrighi (contemporary Italian economist and sociologist specialized in US hegemony and globalization) : process corresponds to a broader historical pattern : very hegemonic power reorganizes the global economy to restore accumulation during period of crisis

=> the UQ used globalization to extend its economic dominance

therefore : globalization is a neutral process of integration, but a capitalist strategy of global expansion to overcome internal crises of accumulation

China is both the product and the contradiction of globalization

• initially China entered the world economy in a subordinate position, starting in the late 1970s

=> became the “world’s factory”, specialized in export-oriented industrial production

=>this integration into global supply chains allowed to to experience extremely rapid economic growth

=> western firms transferred capital, technology, production processes to China in order to benefit from its low labor costs

• howevere , this integration gradually transformed China’s internal structure=> accumulation of capital, combined with strong state intervention : allowed China to move up technological ladder

• => developed advanced industries such as telecommunications, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and semiconductors

ex : Huawei or BYD illustrates china’s transition from assembly-based production to high-tech innovation and global competition

• According to Bürbaumer, this evolution generates a structural contradiction within capitalism itself. by integrating china in global production networks, western capitalism has created a new industrial and technological competitor

• china also faces internal contradictions : massive overproduction and excess industrial capacity

=> instead of shifting toward domestic consumption, Chinese state chose to maintain export-led growth and externalize its surplus through global infrastructure projects

• Thus; China is both a product of global capitalism and a structural rival generated by its own dynamics

The Sino-American rivalry reflects a fragmentation of global capitalism

• rivalry between US and China : not temporarily=reflects a deeper transformation of the global capitalist system

• according to Giovanni Arrighi : US os entering a phase of hegemonic decline

=> historically every hegemonic cycles follows the same pattern : expansion through production, followed by financialization, then finally decline

=>since 1970s, US had increasingly relied on financial power rather than industrial production

=> includes the dominance of dollar, financial markets and debts-based consumption

• However : financialization signals weaknesses rather than strength => reflects the inability of the US to maintain productive leadership

• at the same time : China emerges as a systemic competitor≠US, China maintains strong industrial capacity and state-led investment strategies

• Creates a structural conflict between two models :

=>the US : financial and monetary dominance

=> China : industrial and infrastructural expansion

• rivalry : expressed through increasing economic and technological restrictions

ex : US implemented sanctions against Chinese companies such as Huawei and imposed restrictions on semiconductor exports

=> the CHIPS Act aims to relocate strategic production back to US territory

In response, China is developing alternative systems, including the CIPS payment system to reduce dependence on the dollar-based financial system

• According to Bürbaumer, this dynamic leads to the fragmentation of the global market.

• instead of a unified globalization system, the world is reorganizing into competing economic blocs

• therefore : globalization is no longer an integrating force but a field of systemic conflict

Infrastructure becomes the central field of global power

• in the contemporary global system, power is increasingly determined by control over infrastructure rather than traditional military conquest alone

• infrastructure includes :

-financial systems

-digital networks

-transportation corridors

-technological standards

• The US maintains its power through control of global financial infrastructure, particularly the dollar system

• China is building infrastructures : the Belt and Road Initiative (RBI) creates a new trade corridors through railways, ports, energy pipelines connecting China to Europe, Arica and Asia

=> promotes its technological ecosystem, including 5G netxworks and artificial intelligence standards, challenging Western technological dominance

=> struggle over the rules of the global economy itself, not juste over markets or resources

• Infrastructure has become the key instrument of geopolitical and economic power in the 21st century

Conclusion

• Globalization : not a neutral process but a historical construction of capitalism designed to solve its internal crises of accumulation.

• this process has generated structural contradictions, particularly through the integration of China into the global economy

• While China served as a low-cost production platform for Western capitalism, it has evolved onto a major industrial and technological competitor

• transformation produced a systemic rivalry with the US, which reflects a broader shift from a unified global system to a fragmented and conflictual word order

• According to Aright and Bürbaumer, the current period represents a transition in the capitalist world system

=>the decline of American hegemony and the emergence of a more mutipolar but unstable blue global structure