China as a world power
POSTED BY: Khyron
UPDATED: Sunday, August 30, 2026 17:10
VIEWED: 6575
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This topic was raised by Haze in another thread, but I think it's important enough to warrant a thread of its very own.
Will China be a world power? If so, when do you think it'll happen? Or has it already happened, and most of us haven't figured it out yet (world powers can work in subtle and behind-the-scenes kind of ways)?
Is China as a world power something you want to see? For those of us that are sceptical and cynical of the US's meddling in world affairs, is a Chinese superpower something you'd prefer?
Anybody from the East (or elsewhere) that can tell us something about China's influence in the region that Westeners wouldn't know?
Hopefully this'll be a thread that won't be a discussion on terrorism and Iraq, but I'm not an optimist.
Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Khyron:
Is China as a world power something you want to see? For those of us that are sceptical and cynical of the US's meddling in world affairs, is a Chinese superpower something you'd prefer?
I am one of those cynical folks, but China as a superpower is definitely not somethin' I want to see. As bad as the U.S. has been, China would be much, much worse.
But, of course, what I want and reality are two seperate things
. China is already well on their way to replacing the U.S. as the world's greatest superpower. They are also the world's fastest growing industrial power. They make just about everything for just about everyone (hell, they even make some of the U.S. military's missile guidence systems and other military hardware).You're welcome on my boat. God ain't.
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China-that-is as a superpower doesn't sit well with me; the government is s**t, all corrupt and two-faced. Communist ideals wrapped in Capitalist lust. And oppressive as hell.
If they swing more toward some measure of personal freedom in a move toward a more $productive$ society, it wouldn't be as bad.
My bet is we'll buddy up to them in any event; a war with them might not make as much money for the military industrial complex as knocking off the occasional third world dictator.
But if we really want to strike a blow for freedom, and the American way, China would be the one to invade.
Dark Chrisisall
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
But if we really want to strike a blow for freedom, and the American way, China would be the one to invade.
Dark Chrisisall
Yeah, that would fly like a box of rocks. With 40 million soldiers to our 3.5 million (those are total figures, including non-combat personell), we wouldn't be able to even get past the beaches. If anyone invades anyone, it'll be China invading someone else(maybe us. Who knows?).
You're welcome on my boat. God ain't.
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In order:
It is a world power
It happened a few years ago
It already happened most people that I know are aware of it
No I do not want to see it
I would prefer that we mind our own damn business and leave the rest of the world to themselves, but I do not want to see China as a world power
I am not from the East but I think that Chinas influence is similar to the influence that Russia had on Eastern Europe in the Cold War,however they have Japan right next door who happen to be a very strong country in their own right.
thats my opinion
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China already is a superpower and there is little anyone can do about it unless you stop buying stuff made there. Good Luck.
They also don't pay attention to patent or international laws. They have no Unions, Lawsuits, Environmental protection to slow them down at this point. Equality in their society is non-existent.
Well one thing they don't export...Food and Oil. They get some of that food from us.
Kids in school should drop the french classes and pickup chinese instead, there going to need it. English as a second language in china is slated to be a graduation requirement.
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China is already a superpower, and on their way to becoming THE superpower. The largest single part of the US national debt, as I understand it, is held by China. In other words, they're loaning us the money to keep buying their stuff, while we sit back fat and happy and complain about their deplorable human rights record.
The way I see it, China opened its eyes when the Soviet Union collapsed, and realized that to go toe-to-toe with the United States and the Western world in a military build-up, arms race, Cold War-type scenario just didn't make sense. Instead of investing in a huge military budget - and their military IS huge, don't get me wrong - China decided that to become a key player (and perhaps THE key player) on the world stage, it needed only to build up its economy. Instead of a Cold War, call it a Cash War; China is well on its way to surpassing the United States as the principle user of oil in the world, and with that comes some serious power. I think OPEC might take quite a different tone when negotiating with China about oil prices and supplies.
Does China's ascendance worry me? No doubt. China, as a nation, seems to possess a moral certainty about itself, a sheer force of will. These are the people who rolled into Tibet, saw the "Free Tibet" banners, and mentally added the phrase "while supplies last", and took all they could grab. They are putting themselves into a position where they will be able to do just about whatever they want, and if the U.S. tries to make a fuss, China will have the ability to cripple our economy, either by (a) calling in our note and cutting off our credit, or (b) cutting off our supply of cheap crap that we so dearly rely on for our day-to-day existence. Or, worst case, they could do both. None of those are comfortable ideas for me to have in my head, and if I've had them, I can guess some smart Chinese have figured it out as well.
Do I blame the Chinese for any of this? Not really. We handed them the opportunities, and now we're preparing to reap what we sowed.
And while I noted that the Chinese military IS enormous, it should also be noted that it's not exactly a state-of-the-art military. They rely on large numbers and old technology. Still, I wouldn't want to be anyone facing them in armed conflict. The only way I really see that happening anytime soon, though, is if they decide (and they will, just wait) to "annex" Taiwan, which they view as an illegitimate government and a province that's rightfully theirs. If (when) they decide to take it, things could get ugly, quick-like.
Quote:
Kids in school should drop the french classes and pickup chinese instead...
That's a damn good idea. And if I remember correctly, MOST of China speaks Mandarin - but the financial centers in old Hong Kong still use mainly Cantonese. So which way to go?
Mike
A baby seal walks into a club...
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
The only way I really see that happening anytime soon, though, is if they decide (and they will, just wait) to "annex" Taiwan, which they view as an illegitimate government and a province that's rightfully theirs
The Chinese government has a bad habit of thinking that everything in Asia is a province that is rightfully theirs.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
That's a damn good idea. And if I remember correctly, MOST of China speaks Mandarin - but the financial centers in old Hong Kong still use mainly Cantonese. So which way to go?
Mandarin, Hong Kong may be the financial center but its re-integration into the mainland will change things. Mandarin is what is spoken in the political and military centers so that should make it the best choice unless you are going into an executive-style business job
Quote:
A baby seal walks into a club...
ROTFLMAO
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I’ve brought this up in many post before but needier China nor the US nor any of the rest of us will be in any position to leader the world (for better or worse) if they don’t break there dependence on oil. I have mention peak oil before, this is the point where oil production reaches its peak and begins the unstable decline. Who knows when this will happen, it may already have, but after that energy prices can only rise, and rise, and rise, to the point where cheap freely available energy is something you tell your grandkids about while they work the manual plough. The big oil dependent countries will be the first to go as there economies collapse due to the massive amounts of very expensive oil they need, so that’s America and China dealt with. The rest of us will fallow.
Well expect for a few, France is sitting on more than enough Nuclear power to survive without oil, so perhaps the kids should not be switching from French just yet? Also Iceland uses geothermal power so again they can survive it. But the rest of use had better get in touch with our inner hunter gatherer.
As for ways in which China could topple America there is one way, all China would have to do is cut a deal with the oil producing middle eastern countries to start trading in Euros instead of dollars. If they did this the Petro-Dollar would collapse and the American economy would be crushed under the weight of its own military spending.
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Who do you suppose is in there?
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