The U.S. Meets New Superpower

Today's Independent features a front page article with this same heading and discusses the implications of China's official visit to the U.S., predicting China will be the next global superpower. Open the pages and there are 2 articles that disuss the economic/military rise of China and it's pointed out that the U.S. is now getting a little worried about the idea.
Myself, I remain optimistic about China and get a bit irritated by Bush's attitude to China's stance on religion - namely the fact China banned organised religion within the country. Maybe Bush should consider that perhaps the Chinese have a point, given all the problems religion has caused western democracies. There will essentially be no terrorism in China precisely because organised religion will not get a foothold in the first place.
At any rate, China is now set to overtake France in a short time in terms of economic output. It's predicted China will have overtaken the U.S. by 20020 and will also eclipse Japan.

 

Here is what is happening........ The US did not lose any jobs to China. Those jobs were already lost to other overseas countries. China is facing many internal problems in it's fast growth. The people are starting to rebel against the low wages. Low wages can only last so long.

China has a far more major problem coming up. The oil it needs. China is totally reliant on oil for it's economic growth. Other countries economic growth is not as reliant on oil as China's is.
Militarily China is only at 25% of the US. And there strength lies in manpower and not technology. China has a very weak defense system set up.
I think we will see a great friendship with China in the future. Because China has an economic base built on economics instead of religion we will see them attempting a stable exsistence compared to the Middle East. Money is what binds men from different backgrounds together.

 

some state otherwise...both on the union
www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/publications/magazine/0903_amjobs.cfm

and the tech front
www.isa.org/InTechTemplate.cfm?Section=InTech&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&cfm&contentID=9458

i understand this is open to debate, as the job market does ebb and flow, and some would say the importation of goods creates job functions in the us.
one thing for sure, us corporations that manufacture their goods, intellectual and service products offshore create an advantage for themselves when it comes to the comparitive wage the us worker can command, as there will be more looking for living wage jobs in all capacities than are available.
a true leveraged wage situation for the benefit of the corporations, this at the expense of the living wage for workers, and those looking for work.

 

The US lost jobs.... But even if China was not in the picture, the US lost those jobs anyway. China is just getting the share of jobs that we lost.
It's easy for some to blame China for the job loss, but they are not the problem......

 

one reason is surely the non-existence of comparitive worker's rights laws and environmental protection requirements for corporations that go offshore, these corporations exploit these profitable, albeit less than conscientious, conditions to their advantage.

 

I agree with you that there's certainly going to be some tension between the Chinese population and the government and I think the communist leadership will have to handle things carefully and avoid being too repressive. I mean, Chinese people, as you say, are going to be seeking better labour conditions, better social provision and certainly decent standards of human rights.
In the past, people in China were used to being treated as commodities but this cannot continue. These days, Chinese people have gotten a taste for good living, travel abroad, discos, good food, night-life and more freedom of expression. Myself, I believe China will become far more relaxed and I don't think Chinese people can possibly be treated like faceless masses for much longer.
Having said all that, the Chinese are fortunate to have a strong government in many senses since our own governments are contributing to decline through excessive liberalism and an inability to defend democratic freedoms or secularism. Europe has become too pacifist and the E.U. military is still light years behind the U.S.A. whereas China is slowly closing the gap. China's spending on defence this year and military technology is pretty significant and you can look forward to manned lunar landings in the not too distant future.

 

"The incident highlights the difficult relationship between the two countries - the US wants China to improve its human rights record but recognises the country's huge economic clout, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington.
In his speech, Mr Bush said he would "continue to discuss with President Hu the importance of respecting human rights and freedoms of the Chinese people".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4925704.stm

Comment: It would be a good move forward for China to improve its human rights record but, to be honest, I'm more concerened about freedom and democracy over here:
In the U.K. people will be obliged to carry I.D. cards, are threatened with prosecution for insulting religion or joking about religion and there seems to be a total disregard for democratic process by the day. Do the Chinese evict people who heckle politicians from parliament, especially those in their eighties who disagree over Iraq (together with the millions of protesters Blair ignored last Summer).

 

Tensions are already happening. On a program the other night they described the riots happening in interior China. China is trying to kep a lid on these but the people are taking on the troops. China has some serious problems with it's economic growth. And as their labor costs rise other nations with lower labor costs step in. Last year China lost some major TV [electronic] companies to other nations when the companies packed up and left.

 

China has some huge problems to solve such as how to deal with countryside poverty and this is going to take some time. Also, the more Chinese people prosper and travel abroad, the more they will require a need to have a less repressive government.
Still, my argument all along has been China is in a far better position than Europe to compete in the current global economy. For a start, China doesn't need to import immigrant labour as Europe is doing so Chinese jobs are being created for Chinese people. Therefore, society is less diverse, more stable and not multicultural. Add that to the strict laws governing organised religion and you can bet global terrorism probably won't get a foothold in China as it has in Europe. That means economic stability and investment.
But above all, China is pumping out thousands more science graduates than Europe and the U.K. which means future Chinese populations will be far better educated and skilled. And let's remember education in communist countries is free.
How the U.S. deals with this is now up to the U.S. When the USSR launched Sputnik and sent Uri Gagarin into space, the U.S. was sufficiently shocked to take urgent steps not to be left behind. It will have to do the same again if it's to stand any chance of competing against China over the next century.

 

"The US defence secretary has accused China of spending more on its military capabilities than it acknowledges.
Donald Rumsfeld said Beijing was expanding its missile build-up and developing advanced systems of military technology, in a speech in Singapore.
He questioned the need for "growing investment" because he said no nation was threatening China.
The comments highlight US concern over China's increasing military, economic and diplomatic power, observers say."