It is about time the west woke up to the reality of Communist China. The involvement of China in business, universities, manufacturing everything to supply to the west, communications etc. etc. is an unparalleled disaster. The desperate wooing of China by Cameron and Osborne was a political mistake of epic proportions. They should at least have been aware that the British Empire began with trade, why did they think that China wanted to be involved in everything, altruism?
The best thing the west can do is start manufacturing again and the public must stop expecting to buy everything at rock bottom prices to throw away the following week. Apparently we have enough clothes to last for the next six generations. We should make them last at least one generation until we start manufacturing what we need. Also, the universities and public schools need to stop taking money from China.
Absolutely correct, this Chinese Death Flu has been an apposite warning as to the to toxic menace the CCP represents. Although it is too late to protect our theatre allies, to whit Taiwan, S.Korea, Japan, etc, we (the US) still has enough nuclear muscle to blow China off the face of the planet without suffering a single nuclear strike on the CONUS. This inestimable advantage will only last for ‘at worst’ five years. So, as the Romans said, “Prepare for War”. This may sound bleak, but given the nature of the CCP no other solution is feasible. Our rampant greed and bovine gullibility have led us to this nightmare scenario, but it’s far too late to avert the Darwinian solution to this problem. Our children will never forgive us, if we fail. Vae victis.
No, not if done properly. Put plainly the ‘fireball must not touch the ground’. In other words all weapons released will ‘hopefully’ be Airbursts. They are incidentally far more effective when detonated high above the target area. Off course I don’t imagine many will have to used to topple the CCP. Regrettably their limited response will be to attack ‘our’ Allies, who frankly cannot be adequately defended even now. Unfortunately the CCP is unlikely to be bothered whether their weapons are Air or Ground bursts, thus there will be a considerable radiation hazard, but not an apocalyptic one. The solution is to overthrow the CCP before this scenario becomes inevitable. As the Romans said so appositely : “If you wish for peace prepare for war”.
Douglas McNeish
3 years ago
A balanced view urging restraint and reflection confronted with a propaganda war being waged by a totalitarian one-party state, which also now steps up its long-held plan to fully integrate Hong Kong and subsume Taiwan. It is a shame that so many in Western countries haven fallen so easily in line with the CCP narrative that they are the victims of US “xenophobia” and Trumpian power plays. Nicely played, Xi!
Very true. Many of my European friends – Italian mainly- are of the view China is a benign force and Belt and Road a “green initiative” to be welcomed!
How idiotic of the Italians. You may have thought that after their two great contributions to 20th century civilisation, namely the Mafia and Benito Mussolini, they might pipe down. No chance, sadly. How deranged can they be?
A good balance, but I think things have already changed. Well meaning leaders tried to balance Germany and the USSR in the past. That ended badly. We need to look at history, learn, understand China’s history, and do better. We have many potential allies in Asia from India to the Philippines. We need to support and nurture them including with economic help by sourcing manufactured goods from them. You are right about not scapegoating Chinese people who live in the West. They should be supported as Soviet dissidents were.
Agree with everything you say here. I was born in HK to Aussie parents & have many HK Chinese friends, a couple of mainland ones too who left China a long time again. Problem for these Chinese expats is very often they get associated with more recent Chinese immigrants who support CCP. Loudly. And are often offensive to Australia and its politics. How to deal with these Chinese living abroad? My Chinese friends here are vehemently against CCP- that’s why they left China- but perhaps could be more forthcoming with their support For their adopted new homeland and critical of CCP
Viv Evans
3 years ago
Some good points in this essay, but some niggles. What, for example are these: “The favoured news outlets of the identitarian Right”? Names would have been helpful! As for the conclusions that ‘we’ ought to disregard the Chinese ‘wolf warriors’ so as not to make this cold war hotter: hm. Isn’t that playing right into their hands, showing them that The West is weak and not even ‘there’?
Agree with you Viv. The West must stand together To defend their way of life. Again. CCP has been very deft at sneaking into many of our biggest institutions especially higher education and communications. We need to be aware and start shutting down such organizations as Confucius Institutes and start sanctions. Read Aussie reports on extent of Chinese infiltration of its institutions and politics.
Dig Chris
3 years ago
This is an excellent article but I NEARLY STOPPED READING IT early on when you propounded ‘Discussions of ‘national populism’ in the UK have tended to focus either on the USA, or…the Rassemblement National in France, the Brexit vote, or the Orbà n regime in Hungary’. I felt that you were blindly lumping a 17.2M majority vote with other political foreign minority political parties. Brexit in the UK was ALL about the UK population realising they were no longer able to directly vote for the people who made rules that govern them. You seemed to use the term ‘national populism’ in a sweepingly derisory tone that implies something is not as it should be. Moving on, I would suggest that the core of your excellent article rests on the basis that Governing Power in the West is primarily decided by people being able to democratically choose who they think can give them what they want…while Governing Power in China is primarily decided by whoever gets control then promising an ever-increasing prosperity in return for total obedience by the people. Your final paragraph is salient ‘The wisest response is…methodically working to decouple from strategic dependency on China in key industries. Well said!
rayffoulkes
3 years ago
…and what about Trump, etc., etc?
peter.kimble90
3 years ago
Great to read your discussion. The West has been too self indulgent for decades. Has it taken Covid 19 to wake us up. In the 70s and 80s China was already expanding it’s influence in Africa via loans and building railroads and other infrastructure. They were not in Africa for the Africans! The world bleated weekly as China spread it’s wings in The Spratleys. Globalisation was a good ideal to uplift the poorest but we have become too dependent on China’s cheap products and negated Western Based industries through greed and paying CEO’s many hundreds of times more than the average wage. Legal but morally bankrupt. Wake up before we doom ourselves.
Luke Lea
3 years ago
Interesting. My own private worry when it comes to China has to do with what happens when the current generation of Chinese workers who are approaching retirement start to withdraw their retirement savings from the state-owned banking system, upon which they are counting for their care in old age now that, thanks to CCP’s one-child policy, they can no longer count on their children to look after them as in the past.
The problem is that those savings have been used to finance inefficient state enterprises and decades of mammoth infrastructure projects, none of which seems likely to pay back the loans extended to them but that nevertheless were deemed necessary in order to keep the populace fully employed. In other words, their life savings have been squandered, which means that the regime will have little choice but to start printing money, thereby debasing the currency along with retirees quality of life going forward.
Meanwhile there are tens of millions of young Chinese males of marriageable age with no prospects of finding a bride, again thanks to the one-child policy and the decades-long preference for males over females.
Where this all leads is anyone’s guess, but I would be particularly worried if I were a country directly abutting Chinese borders, since aggression over land has by far the greatest requirement for manpower, at least in the short-run.
One should also look out for a mammoth ship building program on a scale never seen in history before now, again for the purpose of maintaining full employment at all costs.
How it all ends is anybody’s guess.
Paul Guinnessy
3 years ago
Thank you for the thoughtful piece. One minor thing. It was 1989, not 1979 that dissent was crushed (if it was Tiananmen Sq protests you were referring to).
Dougie Undersub
3 years ago
Thank you for another thought-provoking article, Mary. Yes the new Cold War is indeed already here. We should go easy on the aggressive rhetoric but ramp up the practical steps to counter Chinese influence. In the long run, we have to choose sides. In fifty years time, we will either be living in a country that looks rather like China or one that looks rather like the USA.
Dig Chris
3 years ago
This is an excellent article but I NEARLY STOPPED READING IT early on when you propounded ‘Discussions of ‘national populism’ in the UK have tended to focus either on the USA, or…the Rassemblement National in France, the Brexit vote, or the Orbà n regime in Hungary’. I felt that you were blindly lumping a 17.2M majority vote with other political foreign minority political parties. Brexit in the UK was ALL about the UK population realising they were no longer able to directly vote for the people who made rules that govern them. You seemed to use the term ‘national populism’ in a sweepingly derisory tone that implies something is not as it should be. Moving on, I would suggest that the core of your excellent article rests on the basis that Governing Power in the West is primarily decided by people being able to democratically choose who they think can give them what they want…while Governing Power in China is primarily decided by whoever gets control then promising an ever-increasing prosperity in return for total obedience by the people. Your final paragraph is salient ‘The wisest response is…methodically working to decouple from strategic dependency on China in key industries. Well said!
John Geste
3 years ago
Dear Mary Harrington, and all who wish to speak accurately, you should address Xi as CHAIRMAN XI, not president. His chairmanship of the communist party is his primary role, and China actually has no president. Here is a link to a Slate article that explains it. https://slate.com/news-and-…
Of course people should not be physically attacked. Individuals should not be attacked or threatened for whatever reason ““ not for their appearance, not for what they wear and not for expressing political opinions. However, this fear of a backlash against innocent people has been trotted out on various occasions to reverse the obvious community outrage over, say a bombing, and to divert very real concerns. The Chinese state behaviour is aggressive and belligerent and, quite rightly, needs to be responded to in no uncertain terms. The behaviour of a few idiots should not be an excuse to mute such a response.
John Geste
3 years ago
Ms. Harrington, Excellent job of providing links to appropriate & supportive material. All readers & commenters, I encourage you to follow her links; they’ve enriched my knowledge of China condiderably.
Mark Corby
3 years ago
Correct, ‘the drum begins to beat’. We have five years at worse before the CCP has some sort of parity in nuclear weapons and delivery systems. They will have no hesitation in using them, particularly if they are already is some form of industrial meltdown. This is normal human interaction, has been since we left the Neanderthal Valley. For our children and grandchildren’s sake we must be ready to strike decisively. There will be no second chance. Vae victis.
John Broomfield
3 years ago
We need a lot more reporting on the CCP. How is it organized? How much money does it have? Does Xi worry more about the CCP than the Chinese. Does it have any will or plans to reform?
CYRIL NAMMOCK
3 years ago
Allowing the PRC into the WTO was an historic mistake, which the Organisation was warned against making.
alberto.menoni
3 years ago
The delusion of a historically inevitable liberal-democratic world order, is well, just faith, religion. There’s nothing in it that can be traced in any way to first principles (physics). We may be sliding into another religious war.
Instead we should be building a global governance, respectful of whatever internal organization system each country ends up with, that would allow us to deal with the risks of human race extintion by global warming, nuclear war, bio/genetic warfare, and superintelligence.
Another useful idiot. Global warming etc. is the perfect justification for global governance. Why else do you think we are being drowned in a sea of emotionally charged propaganda aimed at creating a fearful, timorous population of easily led fools.
It is about time the west woke up to the reality of Communist China. The involvement of China in business, universities, manufacturing everything to supply to the west, communications etc. etc. is an unparalleled disaster. The desperate wooing of China by Cameron and Osborne was a political mistake of epic proportions. They should at least have been aware that the British Empire began with trade, why did they think that China wanted to be involved in everything, altruism?
The best thing the west can do is start manufacturing again and the public must stop expecting to buy everything at rock bottom prices to throw away the following week. Apparently we have enough clothes to last for the next six generations. We should make them last at least one generation until we start manufacturing what we need. Also, the universities and public schools need to stop taking money from China.
Absolutely correct, this Chinese Death Flu has been an apposite warning as to the to toxic menace the CCP represents.
Although it is too late to protect our theatre allies, to whit Taiwan, S.Korea, Japan, etc, we (the US) still has enough nuclear muscle to blow China off the face of the planet without suffering a single nuclear strike on the CONUS.
This inestimable advantage will only last for ‘at worst’ five years. So, as the Romans said, “Prepare for War”.
This may sound bleak, but given the nature of the CCP no other solution is feasible. Our rampant greed and bovine gullibility have led us to this nightmare scenario, but it’s far too late to avert the Darwinian solution to this problem. Our children will never forgive us, if we fail.
Vae victis.
Surely though, a nuclear strike would poison the atmosphere for all of us?
No, not if done properly. Put plainly the ‘fireball must not touch the ground’. In other words all weapons released will ‘hopefully’ be Airbursts.
They are incidentally far more effective when detonated high above the target area.
Off course I don’t imagine many will have to used to topple the CCP.
Regrettably their limited response will be to attack ‘our’ Allies, who frankly cannot be adequately defended even now. Unfortunately the CCP is unlikely to be bothered whether their weapons are Air or Ground bursts, thus there will be a considerable radiation hazard, but not an apocalyptic one.
The solution is to overthrow the CCP before this scenario becomes inevitable. As the Romans said so appositely :
“If you wish for peace prepare for war”.
A balanced view urging restraint and reflection confronted with a propaganda war being waged by a totalitarian one-party state, which also now steps up its long-held plan to fully integrate Hong Kong and subsume Taiwan. It is a shame that so many in Western countries haven fallen so easily in line with the CCP narrative that they are the victims of US “xenophobia” and Trumpian power plays. Nicely played, Xi!
Very true. Many of my European friends – Italian mainly- are of the view China is a benign force and Belt and Road a “green initiative” to be welcomed!
How idiotic of the Italians. You may have thought that after their two great contributions to 20th century civilisation, namely the Mafia and Benito Mussolini, they might pipe down.
No chance, sadly. How deranged can they be?
I’ve heard that the Germans are very reluctant to fall out with the Chinese as they export a lot of their goods to them.
How typically German, always on the ‘wrong side’ of History.
Perhaps they could send them to us instead, allowing us to stop importing from China.
The Italians might think differently, now that most of their grannies have been murdered by a Chinese laboratory.
Excellent.
A good balance, but I think things have already changed. Well meaning leaders tried to balance Germany and the USSR in the past. That ended badly.
We need to look at history, learn, understand China’s history, and do better.
We have many potential allies in Asia from India to the Philippines. We need to support and nurture them including with economic help by sourcing manufactured goods from them.
You are right about not scapegoating Chinese people who live in the West. They should be supported as Soviet dissidents were.
Agree with everything you say here. I was born in HK to Aussie parents & have many HK Chinese friends, a couple of mainland ones too who left China a long time again. Problem for these Chinese expats is very often they get associated with more recent Chinese immigrants who support CCP. Loudly. And are often offensive to Australia and its politics. How to deal with these Chinese living abroad? My Chinese friends here are vehemently against CCP- that’s why they left China- but perhaps could be more forthcoming with their support For their adopted new homeland and critical of CCP
Some good points in this essay, but some niggles. What, for example are these: “The favoured news outlets of the identitarian Right”? Names would have been helpful!
As for the conclusions that ‘we’ ought to disregard the Chinese ‘wolf warriors’ so as not to make this cold war hotter: hm. Isn’t that playing right into their hands, showing them that The West is weak and not even ‘there’?
Agree with you Viv. The West must stand together To defend their way of life. Again. CCP has been very deft at sneaking into many of our biggest institutions especially higher education and communications. We need to be aware and start shutting down such organizations as Confucius Institutes and start sanctions. Read Aussie reports on extent of Chinese infiltration of its institutions and politics.
This is an excellent article but I NEARLY STOPPED READING IT early on when you propounded ‘Discussions of ‘national populism’ in the UK have tended to focus either on the USA, or…the Rassemblement National in France, the Brexit vote, or the Orbà n regime in Hungary’. I felt that you were blindly lumping a 17.2M majority vote with other political foreign minority political parties. Brexit in the UK was ALL about the UK population realising they were no longer able to directly vote for the people who made rules that govern them. You seemed to use the term ‘national populism’ in a sweepingly derisory tone that implies something is not as it should be.
Moving on, I would suggest that the core of your excellent article rests on the basis that Governing Power in the West is primarily decided by people being able to democratically choose who they think can give them what they want…while Governing Power in China is primarily decided by whoever gets control then promising an ever-increasing prosperity in return for total obedience by the people.
Your final paragraph is salient ‘The wisest response is…methodically working to decouple from strategic dependency on China in key industries. Well said!
…and what about Trump, etc., etc?
Great to read your discussion. The West has been too self indulgent for decades. Has it taken Covid 19 to wake us up. In the 70s and 80s China was already expanding it’s influence in Africa via loans and building railroads and other infrastructure. They were not in Africa for the Africans! The world bleated weekly as China spread it’s wings in The Spratleys. Globalisation was a good ideal to uplift the poorest but we have become too dependent on China’s cheap products and negated Western Based industries through greed and paying CEO’s many hundreds of times more than the average wage. Legal but morally bankrupt. Wake up before we doom ourselves.
Interesting. My own private worry when it comes to China has to do with what happens when the current generation of Chinese workers who are approaching retirement start to withdraw their retirement savings from the state-owned banking system, upon which they are counting for their care in old age now that, thanks to CCP’s one-child policy, they can no longer count on their children to look after them as in the past.
The problem is that those savings have been used to finance inefficient state enterprises and decades of mammoth infrastructure projects, none of which seems likely to pay back the loans extended to them but that nevertheless were deemed necessary in order to keep the populace fully employed. In other words, their life savings have been squandered, which means that the regime will have little choice but to start printing money, thereby debasing the currency along with retirees quality of life going forward.
Meanwhile there are tens of millions of young Chinese males of marriageable age with no prospects of finding a bride, again thanks to the one-child policy and the decades-long preference for males over females.
Where this all leads is anyone’s guess, but I would be particularly worried if I were a country directly abutting Chinese borders, since aggression over land has by far the greatest requirement for manpower, at least in the short-run.
One should also look out for a mammoth ship building program on a scale never seen in history before now, again for the purpose of maintaining full employment at all costs.
How it all ends is anybody’s guess.
Thank you for the thoughtful piece. One minor thing. It was 1989, not 1979 that dissent was crushed (if it was Tiananmen Sq protests you were referring to).
Thank you for another thought-provoking article, Mary. Yes the new Cold War is indeed already here. We should go easy on the aggressive rhetoric but ramp up the practical steps to counter Chinese influence.
In the long run, we have to choose sides. In fifty years time, we will either be living in a country that looks rather like China or one that looks rather like the USA.
This is an excellent article but I NEARLY STOPPED READING IT early on when you propounded ‘Discussions of ‘national populism’ in the UK have tended to focus either on the USA, or…the Rassemblement National in France, the Brexit vote, or the Orbà n regime in Hungary’. I felt that you were blindly lumping a 17.2M majority vote with other political foreign minority political parties. Brexit in the UK was ALL about the UK population realising they were no longer able to directly vote for the people who made rules that govern them. You seemed to use the term ‘national populism’ in a sweepingly derisory tone that implies something is not as it should be.
Moving on, I would suggest that the core of your excellent article rests on the basis that Governing Power in the West is primarily decided by people being able to democratically choose who they think can give them what they want…while Governing Power in China is primarily decided by whoever gets control then promising an ever-increasing prosperity in return for total obedience by the people.
Your final paragraph is salient ‘The wisest response is…methodically working to decouple from strategic dependency on China in key industries. Well said!
Dear Mary Harrington, and all who wish to speak accurately, you should address Xi as CHAIRMAN XI, not president. His chairmanship of the communist party is his primary role, and China actually has no president. Here is a link to a Slate article that explains it.
https://slate.com/news-and-…
Does it matter and is Xi listening to anything coming from the west?
Never trust a man whose name is a Roman numeral.
Of course people should not be physically attacked. Individuals should not be attacked or threatened for whatever reason ““ not for their appearance, not for what they wear and not for expressing political opinions. However, this fear of a backlash against innocent people has been trotted out on various occasions to reverse the obvious community outrage over, say a bombing, and to divert very real concerns. The Chinese state behaviour is aggressive and belligerent and, quite rightly, needs to be responded to in no uncertain terms. The behaviour of a few idiots should not be an excuse to mute such a response.
Ms. Harrington, Excellent job of providing links to appropriate & supportive material. All readers & commenters, I encourage you to follow her links; they’ve enriched my knowledge of China condiderably.
Correct, ‘the drum begins to beat’. We have five years at worse before the CCP has some sort of parity in nuclear weapons and delivery systems. They will have no hesitation in using them, particularly if they are already is some form of industrial meltdown.
This is normal human interaction, has been since we left the Neanderthal Valley. For our children and grandchildren’s sake we must be ready to strike decisively. There will be no second chance.
Vae victis.
We need a lot more reporting on the CCP. How is it organized? How much money does it have? Does Xi worry more about the CCP than the Chinese. Does it have any will or plans to reform?
Allowing the PRC into the WTO was an historic mistake, which the Organisation was warned against making.
The delusion of a historically inevitable liberal-democratic world order, is well, just faith, religion. There’s nothing in it that can be traced in any way to first principles (physics). We may be sliding into another religious war.
Instead we should be building a global governance, respectful of whatever internal organization system each country ends up with, that would allow us to deal with the risks of human race extintion by global warming, nuclear war, bio/genetic warfare, and superintelligence.
Another useful idiot.
Global warming etc. is the perfect justification for global governance.
Why else do you think we are being drowned in a sea of emotionally charged propaganda aimed at creating a fearful, timorous population of easily led fools.