Sneaky, sneaky little dragon

[justoffal]

When you consider that the Chinese economy is built on ultra cheap labor and apply the seven to one rule yuan<>dollar; the numbers suddenly become terrifying. Wake up uncle Sam! Mao is knocking on the door! He's holding the Iron rice bowl.

China’s real military budget has quietly become almost as big as ours

China is plowing far more money into hard power than it professes.

thehill.com

Jo

 

[JoeB131]

When you consider that the Chinese economy is built on ultra cheap labor and apply the seven to one rule yuan<>dollar; the numbers suddenly become terrifying. Wake up uncle Sam! Mao is knocking on the door! He's holding the Iron rice bowl.

Again, not that worried about China. They aren't our enemy.

The US spends more on it's military than the next ten nations combined.

When you cosider that most of those nations are Allies of the US, the numbers become more absurd.

We should be more worried about what China does that isn't military. While the US just sees the third world as as source of resources, the China have heavily invested in helping these countries improve their infrastructure.

While the US antagonizes the rest of the world with an arrogant foreign policy, China is building relationships.

 

[justoffal]

Again, not that worried about China. They aren't our enemy.

The US spends more on it's military than the next ten nations combined.

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When you cosider that most of those nations are Allies of the US, the numbers become more absurd.

We should be more worried about what China does that isn't military. While the US just sees the third world as as source of resources, the China have heavily invested in helping these countries improve their infrastructure.

While the US antagonizes the rest of the world with an arrogant foreign policy, China is building relationships.

When you adjust for the labor compensation rate China is spending roughly four times what times what we are spending.

It's not a matter of them being our enemy it's a matter of them becoming the inevitable world hegemonist.

The West is falling into the deep sleep brought on by Roman Empire type moral decay with a complete lack of focus on what is actually happening.

China on the other hand is just now waking up and in the beginning stages is showing limitless potential.

 

[JoeB131]

When you adjust for the labor compensation rate China is spending roughly four times what times what we are spending.

It's not a matter of them being our enemy it's a matter of them becoming the inevitable world hegemonist.

The West is falling into the deep sleep brought on by Roman Empire type moral decay with a complete lack of focus on what is actually happening.

China on the other hand is just now waking up and in the beginning stages is showing limitless potential.

Actually, you don't understand why Rome fell. It had nothing to do with "Moral Decay". When Rome fell, it had already been a "Christian" Empire for more than 150 years.

For most of history, up until the mid-18th Century, China was the world's largest economy. The British took that for a while and then the US. If China becomes number one, then that is just restoring the balance.

It's also kind of meaningless, because the world is too big for any one country to dominate. The British tried and failed.

 

[justoffal]

Actually, you don't understand why Rome fell. It had nothing to do with "Moral Decay". When Rome fell, it had already been a "Christian" Empire for more than 150 years.

For most of history, up until the mid-18th Century, China was the world's largest economy. The British took that for a while and then the US. If China becomes number one, then that is just restoring the balance.

It's also kind of meaningless, because the world is too big for any one country to dominate. The British tried and failed.

Rome fell due to Moral decay...being a Nominal Christian empire did nothing to diffuse that inevitability. the Empire wide Plagues that weakened the eastern front against invaders didn't help either.
The world is too big for the current model of governance to effectively do that....but for an international collaborative over-structure, which China is building right now, it is not. Not trying to sound
paranoid here. I am a engineer by trade and I can't help but think in practical terms...it's a curse sometimes. This is all simply pragmatism and not affected by political or nationalistic attachments.

 

[JoeB131]

Rome fell due to Moral decay...being a Nominal Christian empire did nothing to diffuse that inevitability.

That's like a fairy tale version. Rome's decline happened because it reached it's maximum expansion. their economy only grew through conquest, and they just ran out of places they could conquer with the Germans and Parthians effectively boxing them in.

The world is too big for the current model of governance to effectively do that....but for an international collaborative over-structure, which China is building right now, it is not.

China has enough of her own problems, she doesn't need everyone else's.

I am a engineer by trade and I can't help but think in practical terms...it's a curse sometimes. This is all simply pragmatism and not affected by political or nationalistic attachments.

Except- China doesn't exactly have a good record on military exploits. The PLA has only been in the field three times - Korea in 1950 (where they fought the US to a draw), India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979.

Anyone with actual battlefield experience from the Chinese military is well into their 60's...

 

[justoffal]

That's like a fairy tale version. Rome's decline happened because it reached it's maximum expansion. their economy only grew through conquest, and they just ran out of places they could conquer with the Germans and Parthians effectively boxing them in.


China has enough of her own problems, she doesn't need everyone else's.



Except- China doesn't exactly have a good record on military exploits. The PLA has only been in the field three times - Korea in 1950 (where they fought the US to a draw), India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979.

Anyone with actual battlefield experience from the Chinese military is well into their 60's...

It's not really a fairy tale version.
It's true that Rome expanded by conquest but it's also true that they fell by neglect. Had they continued the pattern that Octavian established they would probably still be an empire today. They didn't need to do any more conquering just better management. But I digress this is not about Rome this is about pragmatism and the realities of our global community today.

China is the only political entity
that has been forward looking enough to establish international collaborative relations based on mutual benefit rather than military domination. Is it a deal with the devil? Only time will tell.

Furthermore Chia is graduating 300,000 engineering students annually, roughly six times our amount here in the United States.

I've heard criticisms of the Chinese education system as being second rate compared to ours but fail to see the truth in that when sixth grade students in China are mastering basic calculus.

I think you overestimate what you consider to be their internal problems. We examine their problems in terms that suit us and from a western standpoint assigning individual rights to each person. China does not.

Will China fall prey to the inevitable pains of uncontrolled growth? I Don't know. I do know that they're not as susceptible to it as we are.

 

[JoeB131]

It's not really a fairy tale version.
It's true that Rome expanded by conquest but it's also true that they fell by neglect. Had they continued the pattern that Octavian established they would probably still be an empire today. They didn't need to do any more conquering just better management. But I digress this is not about Rome this is about pragmatism and the realities of our global community today.

Octavian's system pretty much fell apart when Caligula took power, but Rome still chugged on for another 400 years.

Actually, I see a parallel between Caligula and Trump. They were both completely unfit for the office, but getting rid of them was damned near impossible.

China is the only political entity
that has been forward looking enough to establish international collaborative relations based on mutual benefit rather than military domination. Is it a deal with the devil? Only time will tell.

Um, actually, the US has been striving for that since the end of WWII. One could argue since the end of WWI. We live in an interconnected world.

Furthermore Chia is graduating 300,000 engineering students annually, roughly six times our amount here in the United States.

Sounds like a good reason to invest in education, but we won't.

I've heard criticisms of the Chinese education system as being second rate compared to ours but fail to see the truth in that when sixth grade students in China are mastering basic calculus.

Nor do I. But I think the real thing is that Chinese folks tend to be very motivated.