One dredged island at a time

When the dust has cleared from this Great American Disaster we call Trump, he will be rightfully celebrated for one thing; setting the precedent allowing all future Presidents to be hard on China.

Obama the Great Social Justice Warrior actually began in the final breathes of his administration to reduce the disparity of wealth and the number of people under the poverty line.  But Obama was a typical “take the high road we are on the right side of history” pussy.  He was the prototypical Democratic Party wimp. 

Obama, like Clinton, could talk “tax credits” all fucking day long.  But when it came to China and Russia,  well they just weren’t tough enough.  “Tough” simply wasn’t them.  That’s not what they were about.   They wanted to create jobs and reduce deficits, and couldn’t care less about foreign policy.

They didn’t look good having photo ops taken riding in tanks or addressing troops.   Especially Clinton the Draft Dodger.  Hillary actually would’ve broken that mold.  The Russians and Chinese knew it, and danced a jig (cum Hitler in Paris) that she “lost”.

But Trump, for all his very human flaws, should be applauded for at least feigning to do something about China.   Nevermind the lack of serious analytical thought behind the man.  Or that overt corruptness of the fellow.  People like this guy because he’s as fucking flawed as they are.   Which is downright hard to understand.  Obama was raised by his white grandmother, smoking weed and wearing flip flops in Hawaii, forever mired in what identity he wanted for himself.  Trump had no such problem.

Trump was raised by a ruthless slumlord and was never short of cash.  Yet it’s Trump that grew up with the inferiority complex and deep well of insecurity.    And in that he reminds us of us.  His aversion to honesty and overt braggadocio ways simply reinforced the belief that many an American has of this guy:

“Now here’s a dumbfuck I can relate to!”

And it’s this simpleminded “I never think 5 minutes ahead” approach that we are taking with China.

Which is not the point of this post.

China has an overt national industrial policy.  It’s fair they should have one.  Any normal rational nation would.   Japan had one, and all of America panicked.  South Korea had one and all we did was shrug.  The only problem with China’s industrial policy is its scale.

China is unabashedly (“debt be damned”) backing its vital industries with the goal of stealing its way to technological superpower status by 2025.   In many ways this is nothing but a modern day version of the Great Leap Forward.

Nevermind that goal is only just around the corner.   Keep in mind this goal doesn’t really mention anything about overtaking America and forever afterwards making it stand in a corner.   And this goal, in light of ZTE’s amazing overnight collapse, due to its dependence on American hi tech products, suddenly makes one hell of a lot of sense, does it not?

How can rational people blame China for wanting to further crawl out from the shadow of dependency upon America?  Or the West for that matter?  Indeed, isn’t it XJP’s duty to do just that?? 

ZTE’s overnight collapse in a nutshell demonstrates far more than any library of research papers ever possibly could who really “runs things around here”.   And it ain’t got nothing to do with battle groups or some newfangled missile invention upon the horizon. 

Rather, like it did in the runup to the American Civil War, America’s dominance comes down to simple boring economics. 

And as long as China continues to be enthralled with that pesky little belief in Manifest Destiny(just like another country I’ve heard of), that sound you hear coming down the tracks isn’t just one train, but two.  Irresistible Force vs Immovable Object.

The events of recent days are telling.   Simply because they are naked for the world to see.

One, ZTE’s almost spontaneous collapse upon not being allowed to buy American chips, reveals to the world how vulnerable China’s biggest companies truly are to America.  (Huawei?)

Two, the quickness with which China agreed to “buy” $200 billion more in American exports.  Ahhh, the wonders of government industrial policy.  

Nevermind the sheer impracticality of China ever being able to do such a thing, if simply because America’s economy is already running at full tilt.

China’s XJP must be jumping for joy.  In a way, ZTE was a pawn that had to be lost.  Thanks to America, China now has all the impetus needed to charge full steam ahead with building China into a technological colossus.  America’s direct hand in bankrupting  ZTE shows the Chinese how truly vulnerable they are.

And all of America and probably every other country feeling threatened by China’s Rise is without question freaking out.   As the Chinese Ming at the Great Wall no doubt did during the threat of the Manchus(eventual Qing).

As the French did when the Germans reoccupied the Sudetenland.

And as the Americans did when the Japanese started buying up America’s great trophy properties.

Still, I can’t help but feeling this fantastic level of energy being spent by the Chinese on rightfully improving themselves and making themselves both less dependent on America and thus more powerful vis a vis everyone else is a wasted effort.

Having bad PR wouldn’t hurt.

For example, some argue the real reason China is taking islands only a few hours off the coast of the Philippines and militarizing them is simply to secure and fortify its sea lanes.  Thus preventing the Heavenly Kingdom from being strangled by the American Navy.  And Japan’s, and India’s, and even Australia’s.  

Of course one doesn’t say something like, “I need space”, and then go out of your way to take way more than you need, ie Islands so far from yours and so near another nations.

It’s bad form.  And China has yet to master “good form”.   And thus the angst.

China deserves a seat at the table.  The rules if you were, however, were created by the West.  Not one single Eastern country, not even India, had a say in the New World Order.   Who is China to abide by rules created by countries that are not themselves even Asian nations?   Not even Australia, in its deepest of hearts, really considers itself an Asian nation.   At least perhaps for another generation or so when its burgeoning Chinese population finally forces its hand.

A nation of much former glory, thousands of years older than Britain, or France or You Know Who, only recently down on its luck but back again, understandably wants to be recognized for not only what it has recently achieved over the past generation, but for a couple of other previous achievements as well (paper, tea, silk, porcelain, you get the picture).

Instead, the view of the West (those creators of the Post WW2 World Order, right?) is nothing more than what have you done for me lately?

Who are we as caretakers of the New World Order to look the other way…..that is until China gives us a reason to?    China likes to brag it will regain its former glory one slice at a time.  Really?   Then why the aggressive power grab at the expense of every damn nation in Asia with the exception of Cambodia and Laos?

We know what China deserves.  And what it should get.  But isn’t it ironic a nation famous for inventing the phrase 杀鸡吓猴 has instead gone straight for scaring the monkey?

Is there any wonder China has lost the PR Battle outside its borders?   China has had a generation to build up good will overseas.  And what does it have to show for it?  Two poor SE Asian nations that will for the foreseeable future be under the “wing” of China and a whole slew of corrupt African nations.   Fucking hurray.   Winning the PR battle one dredged island at a time.

But none of this denies China the right to protect its strategic future from Western dominance in critical sectors of its economy.  China will take our chicken and pizza and hamburgers.  Doesn’t what our chips.  Fair enough?