The main problem with China, as I see it, is the dichotomy between the population of the interior (vast numbers, mostly poor peasants) and the people of the coast (comparitively small numbers, wealthy because of their access to trade). Revolutions in China always come from the peasant hinterland. The leadership of China also has a major problem in that they have to rely on the Mandate of Heaven (which is still a very strong idea in Chinese culture). If they fail to keep control of a situation, or if Nature hits them very hard (floods, drought, earthquake as in 1976) the people tend to blame the Government and bring it down.
Does not matter the US and China will be ruled by the rising European Union super economic power house .
Ahh-ha-hah-ha! Yeah - and lead by the French, I suppose? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Do you think China will overtake US one day? It has already been overtaken by many countries which have bought it with tons of interest....... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
That caused me to think of something. I need to clarify myself lest someone (like Foley) get the idea that I am anti- Europe. Absolutely not! I do enjoy picking on the French though, only because they would much rather live in isolation than be a part of either Europe or the world in general. What I actually see that Europe is facing in it's drive to be a "powerhouse" is primarily two things that will hold it back. That drive/ambition/goal exists only in the minds of the leaders trying to form the EU. It's not what the countries and the people themselves are pushing for - only the politicians. The individual countries are quite hung-up on their individualities. They do want to be a part - yet separate. Their primary focus is on their culture and heritage. (And I happen to be one that appreciates that, too.) They prefer the old-fashion way of doing things like they have always done them. Generally take life as easy as possible and soak up tourist dollars rather than invest in industry and technology. What has all this got to do with the US and China? Not much, except people like Foley keep sneaking it into the topic. And they are in need of some real perspective.
Europe should be damn close to their peak right now. They have a huge amount of infrastructure built up over the centuries and quite a population as well. In fact, there is hardly a square foot in Europe not in use for something. But the fact is that they have nowhere else to build or farm or whatever and they have long since used up almost all of their natural resources. America, on the other hand, is mostly open and only lightly used land that we have barely begun to tap and live on.
When I spoke of China policing East Asia, I was not talking about a spread of communism. China's communism is quite different from the Marxism of Soviet Russia, and they will eventually have to relax that communist stance (as they have been doing for a while now) in order to grow as much as they want to. Of course they will not "pass" the U.S., but they will one day equal it on almost every level, and just by virtue of the fact that China will be the greatest power in East Asia they will end up policing it. The U.S. will not decay into a third world nation unless there is some kind of global decline which affects everyone, but the U.S. will not always enjoy the sole-superpower status it now has, and it will not return to a dual-superpower world like it was with the Soviets. I am an American and I have no problem with this outcome, because from a historical perspective it is perfectly reasonable, and it will eventually happen no matter what you do to try and stop it. It's not a bad thing, it's natural. Every nation experiences a bith, middle age, an old age and then finally a death (although I doubt that the U.S. will ever "die" in the truest sense, it just won't be the almighty superpower it once was.) The U.S. will always be among the most formidable powers in the world, if not the most formidable, but one day we won't be the only ones policing the world, and we won't be able to enter most of the countries in the world on a whim and go about as we please unopposed. If China is the equal of the U.S., I doubt that China will have remained the way it is today. In order to reach that status it will have to reform it's government for one thing, and education standards will have to rise, etc... It's going to happen, deal with it.
Light, The first bit I agree with, the second is quite erroneous. European countries are leading in technologies and industries. Not to the scope the US, of course, but France has an excellent aero industry. World class helicopters. Britain is leading in tanks. Germany has cars. Those are just off the top of my head, of course. There are others. Tourism? That's their heritage? A brief history of European economies: Fall of Rome. Rise of feudalism. Rise of industrialization and subsequent decline of feudalism (or whatever set of causality you wish to defend. Long story short, feudalism falls out of fashion and is replaced by industry.) Urban centers grow, less people in rural places. Lots more factory work than farm work. Americans become affluent enough in the mid 19th century to begin touring Europe. Europeans continue to make a living in factories and on farms. Segue to modern era and technical jobs. The end?
Yes, if they haven't done so already. Thier tech is on par with us, and within the next decade, thier economy will be ten times the size of the united state's, they have more nukes and ICBMs than us, plus they have a billion more people than we do. We are fucked, in the ass, with a spoon, if we ever go to war against China.
They have more nukes, more planes, more troops, close-enough quality tanks is high abundance. All they are missing is a good navy. Once they build up a navy the size of the US's, they will surpass America in every single way.
I would'nt call China's weapon's technology inferior. They have a lot nukes and some big nukes at that, with a lot of ICBM's to carry them. If they can put men in space with thier own spacecraft and bring them back, then they put a big nuke in your backyard too. Don't under estimate China's military technology. They can and will catch up to the U.S. shortly if they haven't already.
They are on par with the US, and it will eventually be better. They no longer use those old AKs. They now use thier own weapons, more compact bullpup design. http://world.guns.ru/assault/as39-e.htm
Do you have any specific facts to back up that statement? Being somewhat skeptical, I'd appreciate reliable information on the subject. Baron Max
