East Asian Economies

March 16, 2015

China Even though Communist governments typically have

command economies, China is different

After Mao’s death and the failure of the Great Leap Forward, they moved away from the government control in the economy towards a more market-oriented economy

Their economy is considered a mixed economy because while there is some freedom, the government does still control some industries

The government relaxed their control of the land and allowed people to being farming their own crops again

Today, China is the world leader in the total value of agricultural products that are produced in a single country

Industry in China

Not only is China the world leader in agriculture, they are also the world leader in the total value of industrial products manufactured

30% of the total population of China works in some sort of manufacturing industry

Major industries include coal mining, consumer-product manufacturing (clothing, shoes, toys), transportation manufacturing (cars, trains, airplanes), and telecommunications equipment (cell phones)

Chinese importing and exporting

China exports the most goods to the U.S., Japan, and South Korea

Major exports include clothing and other manufactured products

China imports goods from South Korea, Japan, the U.S., Australia, and Germany

Major imports include oil, cars, and some agricultural products

Japan

Japan’s economy is a mostly market economy

There is some government control over industry

Because the country is very small, there is not a lot of room for agriculture

Most people in Japan work in some sort of industry or business

Today, they are the world’s 3rd largest economy, only behind the U.S. and China

Trade in Japan

Japan has very few natural resources because of the small size of the country

They must import most of the raw materials needed for industry Oil is one key material that must be

imported They get most of their oil from Saudi Arabia

They are among the world’s most technologically advanced producers of cars and electronics

Their main exports are cars and car parts/products

North Korea

North Korea is the closest to a pure command economy in the world

Because of the isolationist tendencies of the Communist government and refusal to trade, the country suffered from a famine during the 1990s

The government finally allowed some private farming in order to help the starvation problem plaguing the country

Because the government spends most of their money on the military, the people of North Korea are left to suffer with little food, little electricity, and few other basic needs

Trade in North Korea

North Korea’s major industries are military product manufacturing and machine building

These are their main exports After the famine of the 1990s, the

government finally allowed imports of agricultural products

They also import their oil supply The only 2 countries they trade with are

China and South Korea

South Korea

South Korea is a mixed economy that is mostly market with some government control over industry

Many families in South Korea are entrepreneurs and open their own businesses

They rely heavily on exports to help sustain their economy

Trade in South Korea

South Korea’s main industries include agriculture, car manufacturing, and electronics manufacturing

They major exports are cars, telecommunications products (cell phones) and other electronics

They export most products to either the U.S., China, or Japan

Even though one of their main industries is agriculture, they still must import a lot of food products because of the small size of the country

They also import oil from Saudi Arabia

Questions

1. How is China’s economy different from that of other Communist countries?

2. What products is China the leading manufacturer of?

3. What are China’s main industries?

4. What are China’s major exports?

5. What are China’s major imports?

6. What type of economy does Japan have?

7. Why is there not much agriculture in Japan?

8. What jobs do most Japanese work in?

9. Why does Japan have few natural resources?

More Questions

10. What is a key raw material that Japan must import? 11. What are Japan’s main exports? 12. What type of economy does North Korea have? 13. Why did North Korea suffer a famine in the 1990s? 14. What does the North Korean government spend

most of their money on? 15. What are North Korea’s main exports? 16. What are the only 2 countries that North Korea

trades with? 17. What type of economy does South Korea have? 18. What are South Korea’s major exports? 19. Why does South Korea import a lot of food?