[quote=FlyerInHi]ocrenter, you focus on “freedom” because you want Taiwan independence.
I focus on wealth and development. China is perfecting mass production which has given us a world of plenty. With public infrastructure, China knows how do build fast. It’s precisely the competition with the West that China is helping develop the world. I mean look at Addis Ababa. Ethiopia used to be a basket case but it’s now a fast developing country thanks to trade with China.
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Freedom/basic human right vs wealth/development are not mutually exclusive. China is simply scaling up the Asian Tigers model, but with a twist, which is stifling the next stage of development, aka social and political liberalization. Ethiopia is too early to tell, but it is essentially following the same Asian Tigers model. The question here is does it continue with the China model of perpetual totalitarianism?
[quote=FlyerInHi]
Myriad, are we really afraid of the China model? It we really do believe in our heart of hearts that a government lead model is bound to failure, then we have nothing to fear.
If we believe that policies do work, then we should come up with development policies of our own. If we give a better deal, then countries around Asia and the world will naturally follow us.
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The China model is concerning because it takes what previously worked quite well, aka the Asian Tigers model, and twisted it into a perpetual authoritarian model. Authoritarianism is dangerous because personality cult is important, as is the need to always find foreign scapegoats, which leads to wars.
[quote=FlyerInHi]
As far a selling technology to China, what do you propose we sell to China other than agriculture to balance trade? The natural economic order is for more advanced economiies to sell higher tech. So by refusing to sell our highest technology to China, we are violating a fundamental economic law — maybe for good national security reasons, but still against good economics. So the trade deficit is of our own making.
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the trade deficit will exist with or without China. reason is simple, manufactured goods and textile are simply cheaper in developing countries. The question is knowing China’s ultimate goal is to push a totalitarian nationalistic worldview with eventual global dominance, do you still allow the trade deficit with China, or do you move the trade deficit to other developing economies that pose far less threat.
[quote=FlyerInHi]
I hate to say it, but the ball is our court to provide an alternative to China. If don’t want countries to fall into Chinese “debt traps” then we should give them grants. All talk, no action.
PS: when our large banks lent billions to Latin America in the past, causing economic and currency crises, was that debt traps? Unfortunately, we never saw highspeed rail and beautiful airports as a result.[/quote]
you are on point on this one. we got complacent and overextended with the middle east wars. We invented the Asian Tigers model and we should have pushed it harder. Instead we fought wars after wars because of our dependence and addiction to middle east oil. I will say this, China construction is really shoddy, it falls apart very quickly, we are talking just 2-3 years. So don’t get too enamored with the fanfare and propaganda. It isn’t all that rosy.
