MERGED: CHINA: Next Superpower?

[gareb]

With the current pace of industrialization China is experiencing, it will not take long for it to have a solid 1 Billion people domestic economy. These people are the one's buying and spending the salaries and thus altogether the stimulate the domestic economy.

Ok, I'll be specific, Britain is the oldest and the closest among all but mainly in Asia or SEA, it will be us that's the oldest and the closest to the U.S. We did not become a proxy nation to Asia for nothing.

it is not as easy as it looks. there is the widening gap of incomes among the population (characteristic of capitalist development). and the inequitable development between its coastal and interior regions. Chinese wages are also artificially low (to make it more conducive for manufacturing). couple this with high inflation and you have a volatile situation in your hands. since they are heavily dependent on foreign markets, any hiccup in the world economic scene makes them particularly vulnerable. all of these are prime ingredients on why China might not be able to produce significant domestic demand any time soon.

********r is right, Japan is the US' main ally. ours is just for show.

[FAQ]

FAQ:

it isn't even "communism" in the Marxist or the Maoist sense of the word anymore. but state capitalism. besides, human rights violations are not exclusive to China alone. the US itself has it's own share and it isn't exactly a short list.

fact remains though that a country becomes "superpower" not because of the kind of government it has, but how strong its economic base is, to essentially support its military power and political influence.

Whatever, if State Capitalism is about having their own citizens can't own and control the means of production is still related to COMMUNISM somehow. Yes, US has it own share -- the USA Patriot Act. But at least, LEGIT CAPITALIST countries can give their citizens a chance to make better of themselves.

Democracy doesn't work everywhere and it may not be the best form of government for many nations.

The USSR was a superpower doing the exact opposite. It was arguably more brutal and repressive than any government in modern history. The Soviet empire grew to be a superpower under Stalin and he murdered 60 million of his own people along the way.

So I guess you're infavor with Socialism/communism then?

[MRchurchill]

So I guess you're infavor with Socialism/communism then?

Far from it. All I was saying is that democracy is and never was a prerequisite for attaining superpower status. How you came to conclude this is dumbfounding.

[miyay]

well, china overtook US as the biggest power consumer, so superpower na jud sila (twisted logic)
but government is not happy with the distinction though. bad for its eco-friendly efforts.

[miyay]

China already is an economic superpower. FYI CHina is America's biggest lender and while America maybe China's biggest market, their economic relationship obviously is more beneficial to the Chinese than it is to the Americans.

Add the fact that America produces less scientists and engineers than China hell even India, plus the economic woes ailing the west and the aging of their population, I believe it will only be a matter of time before China overtakes the USA in terms of not only economic power but military as well. It's bound to happen in our lifetime.

Best thing to do right now is to learn Mandarin.

And with the amount of US loans at the hands of China, it could be said that China owns part of the US.
Guess where Western Corporations are flocking?
Didn’t Google sigh with relief when China renewed its license to operate in the mainland? But it’s of mutual interest to both parties. China doesn’t want to make Western Corporations more distrustful of her as it is.
And what’s with the Western markets reaction with the devaluation/rumors of devaluation of Yuan? Seems to count for something, IMO

I don't think its helpful for us to be pointing fingers at China and debating whether or not it already is a superpower, or will become one. What is more important is to consider how an unbelievably backward country like China, has been able to leapfrog our own in less than a generation's time.

China was never a backward country. Read the history books. Many Chinese inventions were copied or re-engineered by Europeans. So maybe it’s payback time
The Chinese once considered the Japanese as backward, btw.

[hobie]

If mas ma open minded sila esp. ilaha mga leaders ..They'll be a super power in no time ..

[rain|spirit]

after the cold war, the united states is the only remaining superpower.
china may rise as a superpower, but only as a rival, it will never replace united states.

[leonell]

It could, currently the U.S is experiencing another setback in it's economic history. It may also show signs of a declining population just like the trend of most Western Nations. It's debt is already equal or more than it's GDP. In time, it would start to decline in power.

[brandnewbien]

God made mankind but everything else is made in CHINAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! hehe

[gareb]

Whatever, if State Capitalism is about having their own citizens can't own and control the means of production is still related to COMMUNISM somehow. Yes, US has it own share -- the USA Patriot Act. But at least, LEGIT CAPITALIST countries can give their citizens a chance to make better of themselves.

it seems that you are confusing communism for socialism, interchanging one for the other. i'll leave it to you to sort it out.

the Chinese "means of production", if you are referring to "private ownership", is indeed most are not owned by any private individual or corporation since it is mostly controlled by the state. however, if this might appear "socialist" to you, it is still a big question if indeed the workers, as represented by the Communist Party of China still has any influence and control over the "means of production". this alone is enough to cast a shadow on any allegation that China is still a "communist" country, or still practice Marxist or Maoist socialism.

curiously, your supposedly "legit capitalist countries" surprisingly also employ an astonishingly wide array of socialist tools to manage its economy. (public funds as economic bailout for private corporations, subsidies for its protected industries, market interference, social welfare and employment protection, among so many others). and take note, these do not happen only in the United States, but also in Europe, and even more extensively in the Scandinavian countries, which if i may add, are the happiest people in the world according to Forbes.

incidentally still, the US might have its example of violations within its own borders, but you might be surprised about the glaring atrocities it has committed against the people of other countries in the name of fighting, of all things, "communism" or at best, just a mere shadow of it.

democracy or tyranny, benevolent or vindictive, squeaky clean human rights record or one that is inked in blood, these things do not dictate who becomes a world power or not, but gives us an idea who we should strategically align ourselves with. and since not a single world power (or superpower) has a pristine record when it comes to its dealings with its own citizens and the citizens of the world, its our task to observe and act so that we can get the most out of the situation, and not become the puppet, a country of colonized minds that we usually are.