compared to the buying power of the rising middle class (The Economist 8/3/2006). This
rising middle class brings with it greater levels of wealth and education, and exposure to
foreign countries, which in turn carry greater levels of amity toward the US (Johnston
2003: 46; Johnston 2006: 355). Moreover, the higher levels of education are often linked
to democracy (e.g. Preworski et al 2000). Many mayors have been trained in US
universities, and thus have warmer feelings toward the US in addition to a higher
education. This is one of Deng’s main legacies when he made the move to capitalism and
reoriented the country toward greater economic development (Mahbubani 2005: 53).
In fact, most research discounts the rising levels of democracy at the village level
(Callahan 2004: 15). In those villages where elections are deemed fair and contested,
public opinion is much greater regarding the trustworthiness of its politicians, and thus
diminishes the belief by many peasants that all politicians are corrupt (Manion 2006). In
addition, the technological revolution continues to expose China to the outside world,
democratizing access to information and education that was previously unavailable.
Foreign enterprises interact with local villagers, often spreading organizational
knowledge, creating the capacity for economic growth, and allowing provinces to
strengthen their foreign affairs position providing a pluralization of decsionmaking
Finally, China’s media is also easing (a bit) on censorship,
many of which now openly critique China’s policies (The Economist 7/29/06). While
China still has a great distance to go, there are promising signs of a slow transition and
openness occurring within the state. In this vein, the decentralization of trade to local
governments have made many localities strong supporters of the US (Lampton 2001:
296), while the foreign enterprises often promote and reinforce the rule of law (Weede
2003: 351) – as foreign direct investment would plausibly flee absent these rules.
17
For its part, China spent roughly $14 billion in 2005 buying foreign companies (Hughes 2005: 105).
19
Convention