Comments on: The U.S. and China - The Defining Issue of Our Day http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/ River Twice Research - Commentary Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:15:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: James K http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/#comment-409 James K Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:18:25 +0000 http://blog.rivertwice.com/?p=59#comment-409 In my view, you folks are overestimating China too much, way beyond what it is supposed to be. China is no doubt going through rapid development but please remember, China's GDP is only a small fraction of USA's GDP no matter how fast China grows in terms of GDP, let alone its still quite low living standard. If you carefully analyze China's GDP structures, you may not agree with the title' superpower' for China. Exporting tons of shirts and shoes all over the world can not become a superpower. Believe it or not, study the history of civilzation. In my view, China is a country who are fighting to pull its as many people as possible out of poverty. I believe that is the top priority of their government, for now and for the future as well. Think about it, how much longer down to the road that Chinese people still need to go in order to lift their living standard to a certain level as what Americans have, maybe never, do you agree? I agree with Chinese government with the accurate positioning themselves as a developing country, still poor in terms of income per capital no matter what their GDP is. Actually, GDP is just a number which can not tell you the whole thing as well as growth rate. Think about this question, if USA were facing such a challenge as what China has to face today: you need to feed 1.4 billion people, majority of them are living in poverty even some (very small portion) are super rich, Can America still be a superpower as what it is today? Absolutely not. Because you need to feed 1.4 billion people instead of 300 million ! You can figure out how tough it is to accomplish this task. China is a country who is going through its urbanization and industrialization which the western worlds had gone through a hundred years ago. Nothing else. Americans worry too much while some Chinese folks, especially those who have never been abroad, are way too optimistic. Fortunately, top Chinese leaders are very sober: China is still a developing country. We still have a long way to go. Maybe one more century. In my view, you folks are overestimating China too much, way beyond what it is supposed to be.

China is no doubt going through rapid development but please remember, China’s GDP is only a small fraction of USA’s GDP no matter how fast China grows in terms of GDP, let alone its still quite low living standard. If you carefully analyze China’s GDP structures, you may not agree with the title’ superpower’ for China. Exporting tons of shirts and shoes all over the world can not become a superpower. Believe it or not, study the history of civilzation.

In my view, China is a country who are fighting to pull its as many people as possible out of poverty. I believe that is the top priority of their government, for now and for the future as well. Think about it, how much longer down to the road that Chinese people still need to go in order to lift their living standard to a certain level
as what Americans have, maybe never, do you agree? I agree with Chinese government with the accurate positioning themselves as a developing country, still poor in terms of income per capital no matter what their GDP is. Actually, GDP is just a number which can not tell you the whole thing as well as growth rate.

Think about this question, if USA were facing such a challenge as what China has to face today: you need to feed 1.4 billion people, majority of them are living in poverty even some (very small portion) are super rich, Can America still be a superpower as what it is today? Absolutely not. Because you need to feed 1.4 billion people instead of 300 million ! You can figure out how tough it is to accomplish this task.

China is a country who is going through its urbanization and industrialization which the western worlds had gone through a hundred years ago. Nothing else.

Americans worry too much while some Chinese folks, especially those who have never been abroad, are way too optimistic.

Fortunately, top Chinese leaders are very sober: China is still a developing country.
We still have a long way to go. Maybe one more century.

]]> By: jan z. volens http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/#comment-351 jan z. volens Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:31:42 +0000 http://blog.rivertwice.com/?p=59#comment-351 Correction - the correct spelling of Prof. Ferguson's new conjoined twins is "FRIENEMIES". ( Does Dr. Frankenstein know about that ?). -- Re: Academics: Reading some material of CCIEE China Leadership monitor - it gave me the impression, from just delving into the details of one page - that everybody had a Ph.D. - virtually all from U.S. universities. And several had been on U.S. faculties. Later reading about the "sea turtles" - the Chinese term for returnees to China - and I may not have understood the statistic correctly - but it seems to state that since 1978, 1.3 million Chinese have studied abroad and that about 350 000 had returned to China. -- And now respectfully, with your permission a "China" news item from the academic-cum-artistic milieu here in the USA: From Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. - in the next days appearing at the monumental annual "Mariachi Vargas Competition" of School and University Mariachi Bands, in San Antonio,Texas - the return of "Mariachi Veritas" of Harvard University, under the direction of Yelin and participation of Yelun, from Beijing. The two Chinese are Harvard-related scientists who are also amateur Mariachi musicians. Correction - the correct spelling of Prof. Ferguson’s new conjoined twins is “FRIENEMIES”. ( Does Dr. Frankenstein know about that ?). — Re: Academics: Reading some material of CCIEE China Leadership monitor - it gave me the impression, from just delving into the details of one page - that everybody had a Ph.D. - virtually all from U.S. universities. And several had been on U.S. faculties. Later reading about the “sea turtles” - the Chinese term for returnees to China - and I may not have understood the statistic correctly - but it seems to state that since 1978, 1.3 million Chinese have studied abroad and that about 350 000 had returned to China. — And now respectfully, with your permission a “China” news item from the academic-cum-artistic milieu here in the USA: From Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. - in the next days appearing at the monumental annual “Mariachi Vargas Competition” of School and University Mariachi Bands, in San Antonio,Texas - the return of “Mariachi Veritas” of Harvard University, under the direction of Yelin and participation of Yelun, from Beijing. The two Chinese are Harvard-related scientists who are also amateur Mariachi musicians.

]]> By: jan z. volens http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/#comment-350 jan z. volens Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:53:10 +0000 http://blog.rivertwice.com/?p=59#comment-350 A historic date: Nov. 16. 2009. Prof. Ferguson admits to the departure of his creation "Chimerica" (Op-Ed, NYT)- but wait, don't go away, the creator, although existing on his own planet, rolles out his new creation, the co-joined (formerly commonly known as "Siamese Twins") - who he has baptized "Frenemies" - the one on the left with the slant eyes is "China" and the one on the right with the confederate tatoo is "America". The camera did not veer to Jim Lehrer, to see whether he was amused - during the interview on "Newshour" PBS. The other two on the panel were Fallow of Atlantic Monthly (elder statesman type) and Prof. Pei, native China expert at Clairmont. Both Pei and Fallow voiced complementary analysis'. But China looks different from Ferguson's planet - which still is part of the British Empire: We are still in the Cold War and can't afford to lower our vigilance! A historic date: Nov. 16. 2009. Prof. Ferguson admits to the departure of his creation “Chimerica” (Op-Ed, NYT)- but wait, don’t go away, the creator, although existing on his own planet, rolles out his new creation, the co-joined (formerly commonly known as “Siamese Twins”) - who he has baptized “Frenemies” - the one on the left with the slant eyes is “China” and the one on the right with the confederate tatoo is “America”. The camera did not veer to Jim Lehrer, to see whether he was amused - during the interview on “Newshour” PBS. The other two on the panel were Fallow of Atlantic Monthly (elder statesman type) and Prof. Pei, native China expert at Clairmont. Both Pei and Fallow voiced complementary analysis’. But China looks different from Ferguson’s planet - which still is part of the British Empire: We are still in the Cold War and can’t afford to lower our vigilance!

]]> By: jan z. volens http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/#comment-349 jan z. volens Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:11:37 +0000 http://blog.rivertwice.com/?p=59#comment-349 Obituary of "Chimerica" published by its parents, Ferguson and Schularick, today, Nov. 16. 2009 in the NY Times. Notice my comment of Oct. 21. 2009 after column "Superfusion": "China will not go down tied to or by the United States". China and Asia will survive without the United States - believe me! Look now to their inter-regional and domestic consumer industries for development, in tandem with huge development of trade with the Third World. A fading Diva, the USA with its obese, tatooed, substance-dependent "man in the street", its "intellectuals" with tunnel vision limited to "what's new in New Yaaark", and child-like awe of their long gone colonial masters the British. Still cutting edge in development - to a good degree due to imported brain - mostly from Asia. Still spreading military bases over the globe like a metastizing cancer - from Colombia to Kyrkyztan, still hanging on to a beach in Cuba, stolen over a century ago, supplying arms to Mexico's drug lords to keep the supply safe for distribution among the restless underclass in decaying cities from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the "Homeland", while the Federal Reserve remains in Alan-Greenspan-Mode because it got painted into the corner in the 1990's. Current status: Clueless. Longterm prognosis: Critical. Obituary of “Chimerica” published by its parents, Ferguson and Schularick, today, Nov. 16. 2009 in the NY Times. Notice my comment of Oct. 21. 2009 after column “Superfusion”: “China will not go down tied to or by the United States”. China and Asia will survive without the United States - believe me! Look now to their inter-regional and domestic consumer industries for development, in tandem with huge development of trade with the Third World. A fading Diva, the USA with its obese, tatooed, substance-dependent “man in the street”, its “intellectuals” with tunnel vision limited to “what’s new in New Yaaark”, and child-like awe of their long gone colonial masters the British. Still cutting edge in development - to a good degree due to imported brain - mostly from Asia. Still spreading military bases over the globe like a metastizing cancer - from Colombia to Kyrkyztan, still hanging on to a beach in Cuba, stolen over a century ago, supplying arms to Mexico’s drug lords to keep the supply safe for distribution among the restless underclass in decaying cities from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the “Homeland”, while the Federal Reserve remains in Alan-Greenspan-Mode because it got painted into the corner in the 1990’s. Current status: Clueless. Longterm prognosis: Critical.

]]> By: Byron Winn http://blog.rivertwice.com/2009/11/13/the-us-and-china-the-defining-issue-of-our-day/#comment-348 Byron Winn Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:03:11 +0000 http://blog.rivertwice.com/?p=59#comment-348 So we're stuck with each other? I tend to agree; however, it is very tempting to believe that because the US-China relationship deepened so very quickly, it could likewise be transformed. [See the FERGUSON and SCHULARICK op-ed in the NYT...] But into what? So we’re stuck with each other? I tend to agree; however, it is very tempting to believe that because the US-China relationship deepened so very quickly, it could likewise be transformed. [See the FERGUSON and SCHULARICK op-ed in the NYT...]

But into what?

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