Chinese Tensions
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The US-China trade war
The US has accused China of causing “serious harm” to workers and firms around the world with its trade policies.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60408667
After 20 years of WTO membership, China still embraces a state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade, despite other WTO members’ expectations – and China’s own representations – that China would transform its economy and pursue the open, market-oriented policies endorsed by the WTO. In fact, China’s embrace of a state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade has increased rather than decreased over time, and the mercantilism that it generates has harmed and disadvantaged U.S. companies and workers, often
severely.After 20 years of WTO membership, China still embraces a state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade, despite other WTO members’ expectations – and China’s own representations – that China would transform its economy and pursue the open, market-oriented policies endorsed by the WTO. In fact, China’s embrace of a state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade has increased rather than decreased over time, and the mercantilism that it generates has harmed and disadvantaged U.S. companies and workers, often
severely.I have often found in debating market libertarians, ancaps, and the like that there is a tendency among them to equate capitalism with the free market and to assert that the free market is the route to greater economic prosperity etc etc
When faced with the counter-example of China as an instance of state-led capitalist development, these same people will tend to argue that China’s phenomenal rise as a global economic power to the point of overtaking the US as the number one economy in the world is because of its embrace of the free market and capitalism. The above illustrates this is not quite the case. Even the Economist magazine a few years ago talked of the rise of state capitalism but for our market libertarians, the term “state capitalism” is an oxymoron.
Whether one form of capitalism is “better” in capitalist terms – that is, facilitates economic growth – than another is, I think, a purely contingent matter. There is some evidence to suggest that for early or still developing capitalism, the state capitalist model is preferable from that point of view
Germany in the late 19th century under Bismarck pioneered the state capitalist model and by the turn of the century had overtaken Britain as an industrial power. Similarly, the rise of Soviet state capitalism in its first few decades was quite remarkable. This was the period of primitive accumulation and extensive, as opposed to intensive, growth, and many commentators in the West at the time, were seriously worried at the prospect of the Soviet Union eventually catching with, and even surpassing, the West. Of course, that did not happen but once again contingent factors came into play
The Soviet version of state capitalism may not have been particularly suited to a mature and diversified capitalist economy but it is important to see that there are different kinds of state capitalism, Chinese state capitalism being another version of state capitalism
In some exchanges I have had with Trump Republicans, the Chinese shift towards “capitalism” is equated with the benefit of capitalism over “socialism” and lifting many millions out of poverty.
When I suggested they have demonstrably shown that they should therefore drop their commitment to free enterprise and opposition to Big Government and State intervention in the economy to promote US prosperity, they cannot see the paradox.
When I suggested they have demonstrably shown that they should therefore drop their commitment to free enterprise and opposition to Big Government and State intervention in the economy to promote US prosperity, they cannot see the paradox.
Yes, exactly Alan. These people are utterly muddled in their thinking. They will attribute China’s economic success to it embracing capitalism, meaning for them the so-called free market. But they will continue to call the regime there a totalitarian “communist” regime which needless to say is somewhat at odds with their claim that capitalism promotes a “free society”. If anything that would suggest that capitalism in their terms can quite happily embrace a politically totalitarian regime like China and not only that would fare better in economic terms compared with so-called western democracies, by virtue of doing exactly that
No doubt China will get the message
Australia will expand its military by around 30% by 2040,
https://www.dw.com/en/australia-to-expand-defense-force-by-nearly-a-third/a-61075764
The followers of China have also contributed to this confusion because they are saying that China has a capitalist economics and a socialist state, it is a mixed economy, they do not know about the relation that exist between the economic base and the superstructure
What makes people think China would attack Taiwan now, when it has left the civil war in abeyance since the 1950s?
More likely the threat of invading is to engage Taiwan into accepting a Hong Kong deal, one country, two systems.
Taiwan industry has a large presence on the mainland – Foxconn who produce all the Apple products in China is Taiwanese
I have read that Russia is asking for military aid from China ( I do not know if this is completely true ) but the USA has requested China not to honor the request, if this is true it might create more tension between the USA and China
“The United States is setting up China as a second target of its intense economic war against Russia in what could have cataclysmic effects on the world economy, including the West.
The U.S. could not impose the most stringent sanctions on Moscow without the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and now the U.S. is trying to link China to the war.”The China South Sea in the news again
Australia’s militarism increases again
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-60835136
Australia has unveiled a defence agency focused on space, designed to counter Russia and China’s ambitions.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the Defence Space Command would eventually need a “Space Force in the future”
Australia’s defence minister said on Friday any move to establish a Chinese military base in neighbouring Solomon Islands would be a concern after a wide-ranging draft security pact was leaked online.
It would allow armed Chinese police and military to deploy at the Solomon Islands’s request to maintain “social order”.The “forces of China” would also be allowed to protect “the safety of Chinese ” and “major projects in the Solomon Islands”.
Australia’s defence minister said on Friday any move to establish a Chinese military base in neighbouring Solomon Islands would be a concern after a wide-ranging draft security pact was leaked online.
Russia’s defence minister said on Friday any move to establish a NATO military base in neighbouring Ukraine would be a concern after . . .
Thousands of soldiers from the Philippines and the United States are participating in the largest-ever joint military drills.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/28/us-philippines-kick-off-their-largest-ever-war-games
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