In today’s America everyone hates China. In principle, our divided nation, our broken nation is going to reunite by declaring China to be a common enemy. You will not go broke in America by talking trash about China.
China is a Communist dictatorship, and we all know that Communism is a monstrosity that should have disappeared with the new century.
And yet, China’s record of economic growth over the past four decades has been enviable, to say the least. Today, China has the world’s largest economy. Forty years ago it had an extreme poverty rate over 80%. That means, more than 80% of the population was living on less than $2.00 a day-- in today’s dollars.
So, those who hate China, like one Gordon Chang whose claim to expertise lies in having gotten China wrong for some twenty years-- Chang thinks that China is going to implode yesterday-- must find a way to explain the Chinese resurgence. Invariably, they explain that China has stolen technology from the West-- the Chinese are cheats. Funnily enough, it all sounds like a leftist critique of capitalism.
They fail to mention that more than a few American companies have been willing to share technology with China over the years. The reason-- it was the price of doing business in China.
Be that as it may, an Australian think tank has just issued a report explaining that China is leading the West in any number of new technologies. Not in all new technologies, but in a lot of them. The study was funded by our very own State Department.
The Jerusalem Post reports:
China has a "stunning lead" in 37 out of 44 critical and emerging technologies as Western democracies lose a global competition for research output, a security think tank said on Thursday after tracking defense, space, energy and biotechnology.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said its study showed that, in some fields, all of the world's top 10 research institutions are based in China.
The study, funded by the United States State Department, found the United States was often second-ranked, although it led global research in high-performance computing, quantum computing, small satellites and vaccines.
"Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs," the report said, urging greater research investment by governments.
China had established a "stunning lead in high-impact research" under government programs.
It has been ongoing for several years now:
"Over the past five years, China generated 48.49% of the world's high-impact research papers into advanced aircraft engines, including hypersonics, and it hosts seven of the world's top 10 research institutions," it said.
China was likely to emerge with a monopoly in 10 fields including synthetic biology, where it produces one-third of all research, as well as electric batteries, 5G, and nanomanufacturing.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, a government research body, ranked first or second in most of the 44 technologies tracked, which spanned defense, space, robotics, energy, the environment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced materials and quantum technology.
So much for stealing technology. Just as it’s a bad idea to overestimate your ability, it is just as bad to underestimate your competition.
(See also, the story in the Wall Street Journal.)
Between A> Massive IP theft, B> China doing innovation themselves, C> an "independent" institute trying to drum up more government funding for its industry, or D> all of the above, I'll choose D.
ReplyDeleteXi Jinping made China great again. China is actually America without the baggage.
ReplyDeleteSure, they're way ahead technology wise, but what's their quota hire index? Where's their DEI statements? Don't they know diversity is the key to success, particularly where STEM fields are concerned? Are their doctors and nurses being correctly indoctrinated on the impact of climate change in all things medicine?
ReplyDeleteThe more important story is has China invaded the U.S.? How many CCP agents/military are in the U.S. under the guise as students, immigrants, etc.? What is their job? This is not something that can easily be extended out 10-20 years a foreign country puts agents/spies into an enemies country to sabotage or enable a military invasion. There is a plan in place that is most likely time sensitive. When does China intend to destroy us? THAT is the question.
ReplyDeleteBeing retired, I have a lot of time to watch YouTube, and the content is terrific. Lots and Lots to learn. Based on a number of very good YT analysts and reporters it is pretty apparent that China is on the cusp of disaster. Gordon Chang may have been wrong for 19 years but now he is on target.
ReplyDeleteYoung people in China, if you can find any, are not marrying and not having children if they do. They also don't want to work. The birth rate is slightly over 1 per woman (if you believe the CCP, and they always lie and that number may be high, remembering that to maintain a steady population the growth rate must be 2.1), so the population is really rapidly aging and more rapidly decreasing. Some demographers project that China will lose half its population by 2050 or so. So, what does this mean? Well, for one, when you put your home or apartment up for sale there just won't be any buyers.
The CCP, inexplicably, has been pushing foreigners out of China for the last few years even though they have been a plus for the Chinese GDP. Hundreds of thousands of businesses in China closed. One reason, the Zero Covid policy that closed major cities for weeks or months at a time. Millions of Chinese have been thrown out of work with no prospects of finding a new job and, worse still, no meaningful unemployment or health benefits so long promised by the CCP. And, there is no longer the farm to return to.
There are 80,000,000 or so vacant and still unimproved homes/apartments in China that were purchased as investments with bank financing that are now quickly losing their value. Home mortgage defaults now exceed one million per year and the default rate is rising rapidly. This real estate has been grossly overvalued and is just short of 30% of GDP, another phony number put out to the credulous by the CCP.
The Chinese copy every one else's products because the CCP is opposed to innovation. They are very quickly losing their foreign markets and suppliers as XI is becoming more a doctrinaire communist and moving away from capitalism.
The Chinese people have two phrases to describe the quality of Chinese construction under the CCP, which is a major partner in the very, very large construction companies like Evergreen: "rat tail" when, say, the siding of a high rise building falls away without apparent cause or warning; and "tofu dredge" when a building or highway just collapses. A dam built by the Chinese in Africa just a few short years ago is reported to have more than 7,000 cracks. Homes downstream must be going for a song.
If there is one short phrase to describe the CCP in my opinion it should be, "Stupid is as stupid does." The best and most important jobs go to the best communist, not the person most qualified for the job. So, the decision is always tilted towards what's best for the party, not the country. And, the party is all about control. And, what is best for the party is what Xi apparently wants (as imagined by the poor completely clueless communist manager who actually makes the stupid decision).
There have already been riots throughout China and, most surprisingly, calls for Xi to resign. At the very least the CCP is in real trouble. Just as with Russia, the Chinese economy grows weaker by the day. If China decides to go to war, just like with Russia, it will find very few young people willing and able to fight. This is just one result of the 40-year long "one child" policy. But, that does not mean the Xi won't make a stupid decision. After all, just like Putin, he has no idea (and does not want to know) whether the soldiers in his army are even given underwear or armor or know how to drive a tank or fire a cannon. All that can be said is that they parade well. Xi is notorious for killing the messenger so is told only what he wants to hear; again, just like Putin.
We are the world leader in personal pronoun usage. So all those naysayers can just stuff it.
ReplyDeleteWhen will people start discussing Han supremacy?
ReplyDelete"Zhong Guo" — the Middle Kingdom might more accurately be translated as the center of the universe.