Canada's leading trade partner in China

China and Canada are two countries that do business together. Canada's leading trade partner in China. On the other hand, Canada is ranked 13th among China's trading partners. The relationship between Canada and China has progressed significantly. Similar topics have been exchanged between the two nations. As a result, their economies have strengthened as a result of their trading relationship. The two countries have become closer as a result of trade. The two governments agreed to strengthen their trade ties. China and Canada are distinct in many ways, but they still share certain commonalities. The two countries have a long history of cooperation. It's still unclear which nation is superior to the other. However, the two nations ignore issues that deal with religion, gay, abortion since they do not have solutions for such matters. China is still a developing country and there still some issues that it is working to improve. In as much as the two nations share a lot together, there are still some differences between the two. This paper will look at the similarities and differences between China and Canada with regards to unemployment, education, and religion.

Sociological theory helps in predicting the social world. One such theory is the functionalist theory. The functionalist perspective focus on the works of Robert Merton, Herbert Spencer, Talcott Parsons and Emile Durkheim. According to the functionalist perspective, the society consists of interconnected parts which cooperate to maintain social equilibrium and harmony for the betterment of everyone (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 2007). There are different social institutions which play an important part in the functioning of the society. The family is responsible for nurturing, socializing and reproducing children. Education provides a way for the members of the society to get knowledge, skills, and culture. Economics provides the distribution, production, and consumption of both goods and services. Religion, on the other hand, provides individuals with the moral guidance. The functionalism emphasizes the interconnectedness of the society. They are functional and dysfunctional aspects of the society. Functional elements contribute to the social stability while dysfunctional element disrupts the social stability. Crime is one of the dysfunctional element. Crime relates to physical violence, fear and even loss of property. Crime can be functional since it creates awareness of the vice in the society (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 2007). The unemployment rate in both Canada and China have increased. Therefore, the two countries need to provide more employment opportunities for the youth. If the two nations will have job opportunities, then it will improve the society. The society with a lot of people are employed will no doubt improve.

Education

Education differs from one country to the other. There is no doubt that children are the future of any country. China and Canada focus on education, but the system of education is different. Both countries have a compulsory education system that enables children to be educated for free. First and foremost, China education differs in terms of class hours. Chinese students will spend eight hours in school while the Canadian students only attend school for five hours in a day. Secondly, the academic subjects offered by the two countries differ. Students in China learn extra activities apart from the normal lessons. Therefore, the students in China are always tired after school. They have to memorize a lot of things. Canadian students, on the other hand, do not have to take part in the extra activities (Lance, 2005). China focusses on the exam while Canada is more about personal ability. Canadian students, therefore, learn through discovery. Gaokao is the most important exam for any Chinese student. Canada, on the other hand, emphasizes personal development projects by giving students more projects (Appleton, Knight, Song, & Xia, 2006). The vacation times also differ since Canada has a summer holiday of two months. China has a summer vacation of two months and a winter holiday of six weeks. Despite the differences, the two countries focus on providing their young ones with a good future. According to the functionalist theory, education is one of the major elements of the society. Every individual has the right to be educated. It is through education that the individuals will get the knowledge and skills to do other things like work.

Unemployment

Unemployment is a problem that affects many countries and Canada and China are also experiencing the same. The unemployment rate in China is at an average of 4.12 percent from 2001 and 2017. The level of unemployment decreased to 3.95 percent in the second quarter of 2017. The unemployment rate in China has increased and reached 9.4% the unemployment rates in most countries are high for youths. The recent college graduates and youth immigrants are the most affected by the unemployment. The problem of unemployed youth is one that should be addressed as soon as possible. For a long time before the recession, the unemployment rates in Canada has widened. The Canadian unemployment rate is 97%. The underperforming Canadian economy is one of the major contributors to the high unemployment rate. Furthermore, Canada provides social safety net and individuals can take advantage of it. The social safety net makes people be more dependent on the government. As such, there will be few people interested in looking for employment. However, there is no explanation on why the unemployment gap in Canada has increased. No society can survive if the people do not work. It will be impossible for such a society to progress. Therefore, employment is necessary and every person who is above the age of majority years needs to get employment. It is through employment that an individual will provide for his family and even develop. As such, it is necessary for both countries to solve the unemployment issue to reduce crime rates.

Religion

Religion is something that most people have in common. Religion just like education differs from one country to the next. It is evident that the religion of China and Canada are very different. About 50% of Canadians do not have religion. According to Tavares (2016), the high number of faith group is Catholic. Christianity has been in existence ever since the seventeenth century. However, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Protestantism and Catholicism became influential in the Canadian life Rawlyk (1995). China, on the other hand, does not have an organized religion. Chinese religion is composed of five traditions. The traditions include Taoism, Confucianism, Islam Buddhism and Christianity. According to the Chinese religion (2009), the Chinese people practice a combination of the five traditions. One cannot be practiced excluding the others. Canada, unlike China, has a wide range of religious groups. The largest religious group is Christianity. Christians make about 67.3% of the whole population. The people who do not belong to any religion make up to 23.9%. The second largest religion is slam with 3.2% of the population (Rawlyk, 1995). Canada has freedom of worship. However, there is a decline in the number of people practicing Christianity. Most of them have come to show little or no concern for religion, but they still have a strong belief in a Supreme Being. Therefore, the practice of religion is considered a private affair (Lance, 2005). Religion is an essential element to the society. According to the functionalist theory, religion is needed since it will provide individuals with a sense of direction and moral guidance. Furthermore, religion helps individuals to understand the nature of their origin. It means that people in the society should have a particular belief in a supreme being.









References



Appleton, S., Knight, J., Song, L., & Xia, Q. (2006). Contrasting paradigms: segmentation and competitiveness in the formation of the Chinese labour market.

Lance, W.R. (2005).recent social trends in Canada, 1960-2000.McGill-Queens press.p.359

Mooney, Knox, and Schacht, 2007. Understanding Social Problems, 5th edition

Rawlyk, G (1995).Religion in Canada: a historical overview. The annals of the American academy of political and social science

Tavares. T (2016).Education, religion and a new Canadian pluralism