Category: China

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Posted in China

China 🇨🇳: A Fading Power Too Important To Ignore

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

China 🇨🇳 has seen better days, & post-COVID, the communist regime’s power might be fading. While this would be a welcoming outcome for enemies of the Chinese government, the collapse of the world’s second-largest economy could drag down numerous nations still dependent on the Asian giant.

Desmond Lachman of the American Enterprise Institute recently told Reuters that China’s economy is unlikely to eclipse the United States anytime within the next 20 years. Economist Paul Krugman, also a New York Times columnist, likens China to Japan in the early 1990s. That’s when runaway growth came to a screeching halt and worries about an Asian nation’s world domination proved wildly unfounded.

Japan, at least, had become a rich country by then. China still isn’t, and it may never join the ranks of so-called advanced economies.

China faces many structural and cyclical problems, including a declining population, likely to make India the world’s most populous country sometime this year or next. China has relied far too heavily on debt-fueled real estate projects to power its growth, which has now produced an ongoing real estate collapse some liken to a “Lehman Brothers moment” for China.

Yahoo! Finance

According to Yahoo! Finance, leading Presidential contenders in both major parties (Democrats & Republicans) have a hostile outlook towards China 🇨🇳, which means the communist government will not see any relief from American sanctions anytime soon.

While many businesses are attempting to exit China 🇨🇳 as soon as possible, far too many are dependent on the Asian giant when it comes to inexpensively manufacturing products in high demand worldwide.

A collapsing China 🇨🇳 will result in three scenarios, none welcoming to anyone outside of politics.

  • China 🇨🇳 collapses, bringing about a world recession (or exacerbating a post-COVID recession that many nations are experiencing)
  • China 🇨🇳 collapses & tries to reignite its economy by starting a war with Taiwan 🇹🇼 (resulting in a world war)
  • China 🇨🇳 collapses & either fractures apart (an extreme scenario) or experiences a coup by the military (life for citizens underneath remains the same)

Could China 🇨🇳 avoid collapse & emerge from this pending crisis more robust than before‽ Sure! But the Chinese government needs to implement workable solutions before the clock runs out & the sun sets on the Chinese economic empire.

Image Credit: The Flag Shop

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Posted in Asia, China

China To United States: Future Conflict Looming

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

The latest statements from Xi Jinping (President of China 🇨🇳) hint at a possible conflict between the Chinese government & the United States 🇺🇸.

China’s leader Xi Jinping hit out at the United States with unusually direct comments as he called on the country’s private companies to “fight” alongside the Communist Party at a time of mounting challenges at home and abroad.

“[In the past five years,] Western countries led by the United States have contained and suppressed us in an all-round way, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our development,” Xi told a group of government advisers representing private businesses during an annual legislative meeting in Beijing on Monday.

CNN Business

The United States 🇺🇸 has recently been strengthening military alliances in Oceania—most recently by helping Australia 🇦🇺 secure deals to build nuclear submarines & convincing the Philippines 🇵🇭 to grant America 🇺🇸 four additional military bases to be constructed upon the island nation.

China 🇨🇳 views these recent maneuvers as a threat, & has been increasing threats against the United States 🇺🇸 for challenging its power in Southeast Asia.

“If the United States does not hit the brakes, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation,” [Foreign Minster] Qin [Gang] said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

CNN World

Even taking these threats at face value, the government of China 🇨🇳 must realize that it can not win a long, protracted, conventional war against the United States 🇺🇸, as the former would be fighting dozens—if not over a hundred nations thanks in part to various war treaties & vengeful neighbors (as India 🇮🇳 would love to reclaim the land China 🇨🇳 captured from them decades ago).

A rational person would view these threats as nothing more than that—threats. However, we live in irrational times & just as Putin launched Russia 🇷🇺 into an irrational war against Ukraine 🇺🇦, Xi Jinping could launch China 🇨🇳 into an irrational war against the United States 🇺🇸 in a quest to seize control of Taiwan 🇹🇼.

Image Credit: screenshot from The Daily Conversation on Youtube

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Posted in China, Economy, GOP, Politics, USA

Is Trump’s Trade War With China Ending Or Just Cooling Down?

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

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Allegedly the tariff wars between two of the world’s most significant economic powers might be embracing a ceasefire which should come to the relief of those working in or around the auto industry (including yours truly).

China will temporarily drop a retaliatory 25 percent tariff on imported US cars as the two countries try to work toward a resolution of the recent trade war, Chinese government officials announced on Friday. The government there had tacked that 25 percent tariff onto an existing 15 percent import tax earlier this year as part of the escalation between the two sides. (The Verge)

In typical Trump fashion, the President first announced this alleged deal on Twitter.

Despite what government propaganda on both sides have been proclaiming, these Tariff Trade Wars have been hurting the economies of America and China, with the only winners being those selling Doomsday Prepper gear.

Although it is unclear what kind of impact these tariffs are having upon China specifically, in America, both Ford and General Motors have announced layoffs in the tens of thousands as well as factory plant closures, respectively.

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Hopefully, the (excuse my crassness) pissing match between President Donald Trump and Dictator for Life President Xi Jinping ends soon, as the only ones getting wet are the citizens of America and China, respectively.

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Posted in China, Freedom, Government, Politics

Did China (S)elect Xi Jinping As Dictator For Life‽

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

Normally Chinese leaders are allowed to serve two terms max (with each term being 5 years).

But now that is in doubt after China put Xi Jinping’s name in their Constitution (which is odd if you ask me).

“The amendment of the party constitution effectively confirms Xi Jinping’s aspiration to be the Mao Zedong of the 21st Century — that means a top leader with no constraints on tenure or retirement age,” said Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a political expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“The fact that he has become the new helmsman of the ship of state, providing guiding principles for party, state and military, provides the perfect justification for him to stay number one well beyond the normal 10 years[.]” (Washington Post)

Unlike his predecessor, Jinping is more hostile to internal criticism, religious liberty (especially amongst Christians & Muslims), freedom of the press & the idea of an open Internet.

This will likely result in the oppression of anyone seen as opposition as well as an attempt by China to challenge America as a global power.

Xi Jinping now joins Donald Trump, Rodrigo Duterte, & Vladimir Putin as powerful leaders embracing nationalism, a viewpoint that led to the deaths of tens of millions in WorldWarTwo.

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Posted in Asia, China, GOP, Politics

This is fine…Donald Trump Poking The Chinese Dragon Is Fine‽

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

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Welcome to The Upside Down America (also known as Bizarro World) where the normal rules of diplomacy are being lite on fire in the name of Trumpianism.

Apparently after decades of America, China, Taiwan, et al, embracing the “One China Policy” (a blatant diplomatic lie created to avoid a regional war) Donald Trump decided to poke the Chinese dragon—& China is not happy about this at all!

China’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” with what it called the “relevant U.S. side”, urging the careful handling of the Taiwan issue to avoid any unnecessary disturbances in ties.

“The one China principle is the political basis of the China-U.S. relationship,” it said.

The wording implied the protest had gone to the Trump camp, but the ministry provided no explanation. (Reuters)

Trumpian supporters are already defending the Donald over this fiasco by making an odd compare & contrast with the outgoing President of the United States. 

While Barack Obama’s break with diplomatic precedence regarding Cuba is similar to China, the major difference is that unlike Cuba, China can hurt America economicly (via US debt) as well as militarily (via nukes).

Poking the dragon may be an ingenious strategy in the movies (cue The Hobbit of The Lord of the Rings)…

…but in reality initiating a diplomatic crisis with China could prove to be disastrous for everyone involved—at least those wary of experiencing another economic recession or worse (like a war).

But alas, what do I know‽ I am just another Never Trumper who voted third party out of fear of a novice (at best) creating global chaos out of a desire to be unpredictable. 

So forget everything I just typed! Everything is ok. This is fine…

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Posted in China, Family

China Needs To Exit The Child Quota Business

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

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This morning I received a happy alert via the Breaking News app (a rarity nowadays). 

Scouring the Twitterverse confirmed that the Chinese government was doubling the child quota from one to…two‽ 

While allowing children in China to legally have siblings is a great idea, China needs to exit the child quota business for one important reason. 

A growing number of scholars had urged the government to reform the rules, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiraling out of control, but now regarded as outdated and responsible for shrinking China’s labor pool.

For the first time in decades the working age population fell in 2012, and China, the world’s most populous nation, could be the first country in the world to get old before it gets rich. (Reuters)

China has a serious problem & the answer is not out dated child quotas. 

If China wants remain as the Asian empire that powers the globe, they need to allow families to responsively raise their kids sans quotas (lest they join Japan in the youth shrinkage business). 

Image via Breitbart

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Posted in China, Politics

No Donald Trump, China ≠ New England Patriots

Posted on by Darnell Clayton

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A belated event that I had somehow missed 2 weeks ago (as I am not a fan of Trump in all his glory).

“People say, ‘Oh, you don’t like China.’ No, I love them,” Trump said during his speech. “But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders, and we can’t sustain ourself with that. There’s too much — it’s like — it’s like, take the New England Patriots and Tom Brady and have them play your high school football team. That’s the difference between China’s leaders and our leaders.” (CBS Sports)

I understand Trump’s analogy but strongly disagree with it.

Whether it is improving the spread offense or confusing defenses with eligible/ineligible receivers, Patriots are known for being one of the most innovative NFL teams in recent history.

China is tough and scrappy but they are not known for being innovative, especially when it comes to technology (phones, rocket ships, et al), health (medicine, surgeries, et al) or even cinema (although the latter is due to heavy censorship). 

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Seahawks would be a better comparison as they have:

  • a simple yet tough defense (China has rockets designed to kill American warships)
  • A weaker but adaptable & mobile offense (China uses their hackers to undermine military rivals)
  • A passionate fan base who displays their colors proudly (Made in China is almost the norm for any American product)
  • Building a stadium home that compliments fan population (China is fanatically building bridges, buildings & “ghost cities” quickly). 

Sports analogy disagreements aside, Trump is right about one thing: China is improving their present in order to prepare for a glorious future.

Whether or not that results in them usurping America as a super power however has yet to be seen.

Image Credits: Patriots.com, Northeast Sports Merchandise

Posted in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Liberty, Politics

Choose Your Poison Hong Kong

Posted on by Darnell Clayton
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Image: Hong Kong flag

Unless Hong Kong is willing to shed blood for their political freedom then there is little hope that they will experience the dream of open elections before the 2047 deadline.

China is willing to sacrifice Hong Kong’s economy if it means maintaining absolute political control over the region (a fact they have previously demonstrated upon the mainland).

If protesters continue their mass gatherings then either:

  • the economy will suffer (dividing the people of Hong Kong even further) or
  • escalate into a violent confrontation with police, therefore giving Beijing an excuse to send in the troops to “keep the peace.”

China’s offer of a Beijing litmus test for future leaders of Hong Kong is (to put it bluntly) a craptastic deal, but it’s better than the current (excuse my Caprican) fraktastic reality where leaders are selected in secret.

Sadly the international community will not come to Hong Kong’s aid as their attention is focused on the Ebola crisis, thwarting Russia’s attempt at rebuilding the USSR & eradicating Islamic State upon planet Earth.

Although Hong Kong citizens should not give up the dream of an unfiltered democracy in the future, they need to consider the cost of obtaining liberty sooner rather than later (as the price for immediate freedom will not be cheap).