China's 50-Year Rapid Development, Which Has Left Ghana Behind 65 Years After Independence

China was an agrarian nation with low levels of productivity, foreign capital dominance, the lowest levels of consumption in the entire world, and a sizable labor force. A little portion of the production was made up of industry output, however, it's fascinating to see how this country has quickly risen to be in its position as a global leader, despite the fact that the great majority of businesses only had basic equipment and that the villages were controlled by a small, semi-natural economy.

The Chinese government had demonstrated to the world, and particularly to African leaders, that a country's ability to develop depends less on its access to resources like gold, diamonds, oil, timber, bauxite, and valuable agricultural products, but more on its ability to exercise wise and effective leadership. China would not only be as powerful as they are, but it would also conquer the world and show that it is a country that should not be taken lightly.

It's unfortunate that even though the Chinese authorities fight corruption with severe ways to create a booming economy and today, has eventually replace the West as the colonial power in Africa, African politicians engage in corrupt behavior with impunity to the detriment of their countries. Africa is a name for a continent, but it also has other connotations, such as a place where the politicians are corrupt, ineffective, and lazy. That's what people say; it’s not my opinion, but there are a few things to take into account.

Ghana abandoned Kwame Nkrumah's vision by letting businesses that could have boosted the economy be wasted, whereas China has carried out the ambition and vision of its former leaders to build the country and become a global superpower. From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Deng Xiaoping was the most influential person in the People's Republic of China. He oversaw changes that resulted in a rapidly expanding economy, rising living standards, closer ties to the global economy, as well as significantly increased freedoms for individuals and groups.

Consider Ghana as an example. It became independent on March 6, 1957, making it 66 years old the next month. However, due to human errors, advancement has been extremely slow. The workforce the population is essential to a flourishing economy; however, following the overthrow of the Kwame Nkrumah’s regime in 1966, succeeding administrations neglected the majority of the factories supporting the nation's economy. That was the beginning of Ghana's underdevelopment.

The second human factor is corruption, which is not only present in Ghana but has also spread like a wildfire and has had an impact on the infrastructure of the nation. Ghanaians can now see how the country has lost billions due to corruption and ineffective leadership, resulting in severe man-made disasters across the board, despite the fact that, in contrast to China, the leadership that chose a path toward socialism, nationalized industrial enterprises, and established cooperatives in rural areas.

The People's Political Consultative Conference's initial session began on September 21, 1949, in Beijing, with representatives from all democratic parties and organizations were present. The Communist Party of China presided over the meeting and on September 30, the Conference chose Mao Zedong to lead the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, while on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was officially established.

On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong passed away, which aggravated the political conflict within the country and the extreme supporters of Mao were detained. Deng Xiaoping assumed control of the party and the government in 1978, instituted the ‘four modernizations’ agenda, which called for changes in the industrial, agricultural, cultural, and military armaments sectors and serious reforms were implemented in China.

They changed dramatically the country's appearance, and reforms started in agriculture. A plot of land was given to each yard on a long-term lease once cooperatives were disbanded. In the industrial sector, businesses received freedom, and market relationships grew. Private and foreign businesses have started to appear, and gradually more foreign capital started to flow into China. As a result, the industry had grown by the turn of the twentieth century, and Chinese exports had started to succeed abroad.

The rapid growth and penetration of Chinese goods around the world, including the US, had a profound impact on the US market. At that time, the American government accused China had flooded the market with low-quality goods. Many people outside of China discovered that their products are not only inexpensive but also durable. With such a large population, China's agricultural industry flourished, producing food and raising the standard of living for a sizable portion of the country's citizens.

Just four decades ago, a country like China had a severely underdeveloped, lagging economy but as a result of the economic changes that have liberalized the country's economy throughout the years, it is believed that China has experienced an economic miracle. Over the past 30 years, the economy has grown at an astounding and extraordinary rate, with an average GDP growth rate of 10% and a per capita growth rate of 9%. The world's economies are today dominated by China's economy.

Let's examine how this nation was able to attain such results, the causes of the economic miracle, and the circumstances that prevailed before it.

In the late 1980s, the Chinese economic miracle starts to materialize. The outcomes of these changes have had a qualitative impact on everyday persons' lives. The rate of unemployment fell, and retail sales tripled. When compared to 1978, the volume of international trade surged four-fold by 1987. Foreign investment worth billions of dollars was recruited, and by 1989, there were 19,000 joint enterprises.

Numerous scholars who have studied the phenomenon of China's economic miracle have put forward the following reasons for the economic recovery:

1. The state's effective role in economic reform. The nation's administrative system effectively handled the difficulties of economic modernization at all stages of the changes.

2. Considerable labor resources on the Chinese labor market, demand is almost always greater than supply. This allows you to keep your salaries low while maintaining high productivity.

3. Attracting foreign investment in high-tech and China's industrial sectors.

4. A development strategy focused on exports that permitted raising the economy's knowledge intensity and mastering cutting-edge technology at the expense of foreign exchange profits

That is a summary of China's history, and if you compare it to Ghana's over the course of its six decades of independence, you'll realize that corruption and the lack of effective leadership have been the main obstacles to the country's development. Considering that Africa has the resources, African leaders should have been the ones providing financial aid to underdeveloped or impoverished countries. However, due to the lack of effective leadership and massive corruption, China currently provides financial support to African countries.