6. World can't afford rich China
World can't afford rich China
Before you start reading, study the following vocabulary:
Afford
Resources
Allow
Density
Target
Supply
Sustain
Gross domestic product
World can't afford rich China
China's ambitious economic growth plans are environmentally unachievable because the world does not have enough resources to allow its 1.3 billion people to become Western-style consumers, a U.N. official has said.
Klaus Toepfer, head of the U.N. Environment Program, said China's aim of quadrupling its economy by 2020 can only occur if developed nations radically change their consumption habits to free up scarce resources for the world's poor.
"Quadrupling the GDP of a country of 1.3 billion, can you imagine what the consequences are if you go in the same structure as was done in the so-called developed countries?" Toepfer told reporters during a visit to Sydney Wednesday.
He said that if China had the same density of private cars as, for example Germany, it would have to produce 650 million vehicles – a target that environmentalists say the world's supply of metal and oil would be unable to sustain.
"It's not a question whether you are devoted to nature or whether this is an emotional topic. This is the rationality of economics," Toepfer said.
China's gross domestic product, or GDP, grew eight percent last year and the government expects it to expand another seven percent in 2003.
Questions
What do the following phrases mean?
- "Scarce resources" means:
- "Developed countries" means:
- "You are devoted to nature" means:
- "China's aim" means:
- "Environmentally unachievable" means:
Are the following statements about the text correct?
1. There is not enough metal and oil for Chinese plans.
2. China's GDP fell last year.
3. China wants to have a four times stronger economy by 2020.
4. The question of Chinese growth is too emotional.
5. China's economic plans are realistic.