400Professor RobertsMidterm EssayShanghai and Hong Kong's Contributions to China's Economic ModernizationSome people predict Shanghai will replace Hong Kong in the future. Others argue that Hong Kong will remain as China's gateway to the rest of the world. For the past few months, I studied intensively about China and Hong Kong's history, culture, economy and politics. Hong Kong and Shanghai have made immense contributions to China's economy and modernization. However, I believe that Shanghai is still lacking the proper and sophiscated infrastructure such as the legal system and freedom of the press. In the years to come, Hong Kong will remain the financial and economic center of Asia due to its vast resources, legal infrastructure, history, and culture.In the past two decades, Shanghai has made great contributions to China's economic modernization. According to Cheng Li, in the article, "The Color of Money", Shanghai had one-eighth of the total industrial output of the nation in 1980. In the early 1990's, Deng Xiaoping realized the potential of Shanghai, and urged the municipal government to develop the local economy and attract foreign investment. The entire city went under a reconstruction era, also known as the "construction fever" period. Hundreds of skyscrapers were built, and vast rural areas were transformed into new modern towns. Today, department stores and high rise buildings are not uncommon in Shanghai. The newly built Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai is now Asia's highest television tower. Shanghai not only underwent a physical change, but its economy boomed as well since 1993. The city has attracted more foreign investment than ever before. Currently, 121 largest transnational corporations operate in Shanghai. Investments include subway lines, highways, bridges and tunnels linking the Huangpu River and Pudong. It is estimated that $2.35 billion has been invested in Shanghai by foreign investment. In addi...
