Keely+and+Madona+-+CP+-+FA11


 * **Human Rights-** Human rights in China have been criticized. Many believe that China has been suppressing the people’s freedom of speech and the press. Freedom of assembly has also been criticized as well as religion. All of these are guaranteed by the constitution but other countries have said that China is abusing these rights. Because of the Communist government, they do have control of the news. Problems have especially come to be when people protest the Communist control. Opponents of Communism who voice their opinions, such as protesters and journalists, have been imprisoned, as well as sympathizers. China’s involvement in the Darfur conflict have also been criticized. The Darfur conflict here in Sudan has been taking place since the early 2000s. China and Sudan have a very friendly relationship, as well as a business oriented one. Through trade, China has been involved in this conflict. China was and is reluctant to interfere in our issues because they don’t want to ruin the positive relationship we have with them. Many other countries have been critical of China for not doing all they could to stop what they were calling a “genocide.” However, what they don’t understand is that China was more focused on positive trading relations with us and did not want to cause tension between us. They have subtly tried to persuade us towards peace and allowing UN peacekeepers deployment throughout Darfur. China’s no interference policy on the Darfur conflict was not a representation of their own views on human rights. China believes that each country should be allowed to define human rights, and should be given the amount of time needed to reach their ideal in human rights. They also believe that interfering in the problems of our country is violating our sovereignty. We greatly respect this opinion. Those criticizing China’s policy should keep in mind that many other countries separate business from politics. For example, look at the U.S.’s relationship in supporting Saudi Arabia. Sudan also understands that China must keep a tight control over their government. One of the main reasons they need to limit the freedoms of their people is because of the large population. Without a tight control, the people in the country would be chaotic. Sudan also agrees with China that each country should be able to define their own human rights. China’s definition of freedom of speech, the press, and assembly may be different from others. Countries getting involved in China’s human rights are insulting their sovereignty.
 * **Global Interdependence-** China is Sudan’s chief trading partner. Our biggest export is oil, with 60 percent of our it being sold to China. China is the second largest consumer of oil, after the United States and imports one third of its oil from African nations such as Sudan. China also imports other goods from Sudan, including timber, copper, and diamonds. Global interdependence between Sudan and China extends beyond economic exports and imports. The Chinese have also been kind enough to supply us with weapons. China’s interaction in Sudan has been appreciated as it brings with it economic development.
 * **Environment-** China is very much involved in the economic development of African countries, such as Sudan. This involves exploitation in natural resources, including oil. China is Sudan’s biggest trade partner. China’s investments in oil and mining in Sudan do come with environmental risks, which is understandable. To combat these risks, China has placed laws and regulations as well as institutions to protect the environment of Africa. One example of Chinese environmental interaction with Sudan is its financing of the Merowe Dam on the Nile River. This dam provides a large amount of hydroelectric power to Sudanese people. However, western powers are critical because it will displace many people out of the Nile River Valley. The Sudanese government has provided places for the displaced peoples to resettle and provide improved living conditions. China’s interaction in Sudan has been welcomed warmly, and this dam has greatly improved the electrical problem Sudan has faced. China has been receiving criticism for the environmental problems they face. The air in China, especially above the capital of Beijing, is filled with smog. The percent of nitrogen dioxide in the air has risen 50 percent since 1996. Garbage fills many streets. There is also the problem of water scarcity, with many water resources drying out because of climate changes. Sudan can completely understand the problems China is facing. The population is over 1.3 billion people. With a population that big, it has to be very hard to control the environmental problems. We understand that with China advancing so rapidly, environmental problems such as the ones they are facing now are inevitable. Nitrogen dioxide, one of the major pollutants in the air, is released from heavy industry and traffic. If China wants to keep up its economy, environmental problems will occur. The boom in industry is also fairly recent. We believe that China, given enough time, will be able to stabilize their environmental problems.
 * **Tolerance of Diversity-** Both Sudan and China are very diverse nations.China is the most populous country in the world at 1.3 billion people. With such a big population, there are many ethnic groups in the country. The large majority in China is the Han Chinese making up 91.5%. Minorities make up 8.5% of the population. Sudan has a much smaller population at 45 million. Arabs are the majority at 70%. There are also many minorities, which we refer to as the ethnic “Africans.” Issues have arisen in Sudan over conflicts between the Arabs and the Africans in the Darfur region. Taking into account the fact that China has such a larger population and a larger majority, it is very admirable that China has avoided the ethnic issues that have plagued our country. China is also promoting unity amongst its people, one of the major ways by establishing a national language. However, China has also come under criticism because of suppression of freedom of religion. China and Sudan both have had problems of rebel groups. As stated before, the problems in Sudan have risen into war. China has not allowed their problems to go that far. Many people have protested against the tight Communist control. An example of this was the Tiananmen Square incident involving students protesting the government. Uprisings have also occurred in Tibet over independence. The largest and most widely spread of these occurred in 2008. The Chinese government has cracked down hard on both instances. We completely understand the measures the Chinese had to take, especially considering the aforementioned population of China. Sudan still admires the fact that China has not allowed the problems of groups with opposing opinions on government to culminate to a war as it has here.
 * **Sudan’s interaction with China-** China is our biggest trading partner, we have a strictly business relationship with them when it comes to oil. They don’t get involved in our country’s personal affairs such as our economics and our politics. As long as they pay for what they need, and sometimes they pay double, it makes the Sudanese people happy. Although they have not directly addressed their opinion on the internal conflict raging in our country, they need our oil and were willing to sell us weapons. China became slightly concerned in 2006 that the Darfur conflict would spill in to our business affairs but we assured them that it would not. Sometimes China will subtly hint at the direction they would like a certain situation to go, but they have never used force or any direct way of reasoning to influence our political and economic decisions, especially those concerning the situation in Darfur.
 * **Promoting positive relationship with China-** China’s non-interference policy has really aided in creating a positive and lucrative relationship between us. We receive virtually no pressure from them to react or act in a certain way and that has enabled us to get along. If China were to interfere and favor one side in the Darfur conflict or anything else, it would have created tension and that would not be productive where trade is concerned. Just last November 18th we celebrated 51 years of Chinese-Sudanese diplomatic ties, coming up 52. Our relationship with China has been not only positive, but also very fruitful, it would be a true loss and shame to lose it. That’s why we will work on maintaining our strong ties to this strong country.
 * **Promoting (or working against) China’s progress-** We see that China is rising in power and is a big economic country. China has many companies set up in Sudan and many of our young scholars are learning Chinese because of the many opportunities Chinese companies are creating for their future. China creates businesses for their own countries gain but they also help us in employing our people. We intend to stand by China and work with China to further their progress because progress in China, to a certain extent, is progress in Sudan. China’s progress leads to more demand not only for oil directly, but indirectly as well through it’s businesses and industries.
 * **China and the next 50 years in world history-** We believe that China will continue to advance in the next fifty years, possibly coming out on top in an overall world rank. China currently has the second largest economy in the world (not including the European Union). The 2010 estimate for China's GDP was 10 trillion dollars. With all of the trade going on between China and other countries, we believe their economy will continue to rise. We know that whatever problems they may have, they will try to address and improve. Our relationship will continue to strengthen and improve as we become a bit more than just trading partners, but allies as well. Sudan is getting on it’s feet again and as the issues in Darfur are winding down, we will be able to contribute more and reciprocate to all that China has done for us. We will do everything in our power to stick by China and further advance them in the future because ultimately, success in China is success in Sudan.

 Works Cited

 Bosshard, Peter. "Pambazuka - China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa." Pambazuka News. N.p., 29 May 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. .  CIA. "The World Factbook." Central Intelligence Agency. N.p., 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. .  "China says to continue efforts for Sudan's peace process ." Xinhuanet.com. N.p., 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-04/27/c_13269801.htm>.

"Chinas Environmental Crisis ." //The New York Times//. N.p., 26 Aug. 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <[]l>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hanson, Stephanie. "Pambazuka - China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa." Pambazuka News. N.p., 6 June 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/48442>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Machipisa, Lewis. "BBC NEWS Africa Sudanese students flock to learn Chinese." BBC News - Home. N.p., 13 June 2007. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6745323.stm>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Polgreen, Lydia. "China, in new role, presses Sudan on Darfur - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/world/africa/23iht-23darfur.10322602.html?pagewanted=a>. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Shah, Anup. "China and Human Rights." Global Issues : social, political, economic and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> environmental issues that affect us all. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <http://www.globalissues.org/article/144/china-and-human-rights#Chinaslackofpoliticalfreedoms>.