The documentary: “China Revs Up” talks about the quick industrialization of China, and the problems that tag along such an aggressive industrial program in a short period. China once had over a billion poor people, but now it has the world’s fastest growing economy. China’s economy has been growing at an amazing rate of 8% per year for more than 20 years. While the economy is growing, the need for energy is growing at a faster rate. The documentary mentions that China could match the carbon emissions of the US projected by 2030. China’s energy is mainly supplied by coal, and 7 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities come from China. The major problems are due to overpopulation and present economic thinking, and also globalization. As documented in the film, The United States has set the benchmark for high living, high energy use. The US is one of the most consumptive countries in the world and China has really taken western consumerism as its model. Since the capitalist economic reform in China in the 1980s, the Chinese economy has been rising significantly, and the typical income has multiplied by 4 in the past 2 decade. People are leaving their traditions and their villages and farm lands to move to the city. As more and more shopping malls are build all over the country, and as a result energy consumption has risen drastically. China burned 25% more coal than the US in 2001. China’s economy grew incredibly quickly and with no concurrent development in environmental policy. The biggest problem is the lack of clean air. 70% of China’s energy is provided by coal. The coal plants and the cars in many of the cities are causing more and more smog, for example in Beijing, there are days when it is advised for people to stay indoors, as the smog is that dangerous. The documentary informs that China itself says that it is losing 6% of its GDP due to the public health costs of this pollution. For many years, the overpopulation was a major issue in China. The one child policy was placed and it was controversial. The policy was effective in slowing China’s population growth, but the law is no longer compulsory. At the present moment, China has more or less 20% of the world’s population, however merely has 7% of the world’s arable land. The problem with overpopulation is also related with energy consumption. The film mentions that China is using outdated energy technology, therefore less efficient and more polluting. One of the more new problem is love of cars is China. China is taking more an American way of life as a consumer culture, and is more interested in trends and new products. This has resulted in the colossal increase in the number of cars in China. In China, the cars don’t have the emissions criteria compare to the US and Europe have one. The documentary mentions that the government does not want to take action for the reason that the auto industry has been creating over millions jobs in the past few years. The film shows us that China’s affluent rises, pollution increases, there is a shortage of fresh water for the crop, deforestation increases and a rise in green house gases.
Weber’s model explains well the industrialization of China. China has the largest population, therefore a large labour force. China is known for cheap wages which sways companies to move their manufacturing. The international motor companies have predicted right, great success, about their business in China. This is a clear demonstration of the location theory. If we look at the variable costs, the companies are more in favour. Deindustrialization is a process by which companies shift industrial jobs to other regions with cheaper labor. It is clearly shown in China. China is one of major beneficiary of industrial work that is outsourced or moved offshore. At the end of the film, there is a clear picture that China is trying to use higher technology to decrease the impact on the environment. The big cities of China are becoming technopole areas.