Can we have a serious conversation about China?
China is rapidly overtaking the United States in a number of areas that threaten to undermine America’s position in the world. Naturally, US leaders and their billionaire backers are concerned about this and have taken steps to remedy the situation. Regrettably, none of these steps include an honest appraisal of the western economic model that allows the ‘privileged few’ to skim-off too much of their company’s profits leaving insufficient capital to reinvest in productive activity, critical infrastructure or societal improvement. Chinese policymakers have taken a different approach to this issue and the results speak for themselves. Standards of living have risen sharply, poverty has been eradicated, health care is universal, critical infrastructure is top-notch, and China is getting stronger by the day.
Don’t take my word for it. Read the economic data yourself. Or, better still, Google “Chinese cities” or “Chinese high-speed rail” or “Chinese ports” or “Chinese bridges” etc. See for yourself the miracle that is taking place in China today.
This is not merely a story about China’s meteoric economic rise. It’s a story about a culture and a civilization that has shaken off a century of imperial humiliation and exploded onto the world stage like no other civilization in human history. China is not only a beacon of light in a world that is experiencing paroxysms of violence and genocide on an scale not seen since the second World War, it also serves as blueprint for a future of peaceful coexistence through shared prosperity, economic integration and a vast infrastructure plan for connecting the continents via a new Silk Road. (Belt and Road Initiative) China’s leaders believe that commerce and connectivity can draw the world closer together ending the vicious cycle of wars that threaten to annihilate all of humanity. In short, China is pointing the way out of five centuries of colonial exploitation to a brighter future where nations and people use free markets to work together and ‘lift all boats.’
Did we mention that the Chinese miracle does not require 800 military bases scattered across the planet, or bloody interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria etc, or countless coups in foreign capitals, or black ops, dirty wars and endless psyops aimed at the American people. (Russiagate, Covid-19, January 6, George Floyd etc) No, China achieved its objectives the old-fashion way, through hard work, initiative, innovation and the support of a government that directs capital to projects that promote the collective interests of the Chinese people. Imagine a government that boldly articulates its vision for the future and then assists the workers and industries that make that dream a reality. That’s what China has done, and that’s what China is doing today. Take a look at this excerpt from an article by Ron Unz:
The rise of China surely ranks among the most important world developments of the last 100 years….During the three decades to 2010, China achieved perhaps the most rapid sustained rate of economic development in the history of the human species, with its real economy growing almost 40-fold between 1978 and 2010. In 1978, America’s economy was 15 times larger, but according to most international estimates, China is now set to surpass America’s total economic output within just another few years.
Furthermore, the vast majority of China’s newly created economic wealth has flowed to ordinary Chinese workers, who have moved from oxen and bicycles to the verge of automobiles in just a single generation. While median American incomes have been stagnant for almost forty years, those in China have nearly doubled every decade, with the real wages of workers outside the farm-sector rising about 150 percent over the last ten years alone. The Chinese of 1980 were desperately poor compared to Pakistanis, Nigerians, or Kenyans; but today, they are several times wealthier, representing more than a tenfold shift in relative income. American Pravda: The Racial Roots of China’s Rise, Ron Unz, Unz Review
More from Unz: A World Bank report recently highlighted the huge drop in global poverty rates from 1980 to 2008, but critics noted that over 100 percent of that decline came from China alone: the number of Chinese living in dire poverty fell by a remarkable 662 million, while the impoverished population in the rest of the world actually rose by 13 million. And although India is often paired with China in the Western media, a large fraction of Indians have actually grown poorer over time….China’s economic progress is especially impressive when matched against historical parallels. Between 1870 and 1900, America enjoyed unprecedented industrial expansion… During those 30 years America’s real per capita income grew by 100 percent. But over the last 30 years, real per capita income in China has grown by more than 1,300 percent.During the three decades to 2010, China achieved perhaps the most rapid sustained rate of economic development in the history of the human species, with its real economy growing almost 40-fold between 1978 and 2010. In 1978, America’s economy was 15 times larger, but according to most international estimates, China is now set to surpass America’s total economic output within just another few years.
….according to the official economic statistics provided by the CIA World Factbook China’s real productive economy—perhaps the most reliable measure of global economic power—is already more than three times larger than that of the U.S. and also growing far more rapidly. Indeed, according to that important economic metric, China now easily outweighs the combined total of the entire American-led bloc—the United States, the rest of the Anglosphere, the European Union, and Japan—an astonishing achievement…American Pravda: The Racial Roots of China’s Rise, Ron Unz, Unz Review
The data confirm that Ron Unz’s analysis is 100 percent accurate. “According to official figures, real per capita income has risen by a factor of more than thirty since 1978. Annual per capita income now stands at about $22,100.”
Also “life expectancy in China is currently higher than in the United States, with China’s average life expectancy around 78.2 years compared to the US’s lower figure which varies depending on source, but is generally around 77.5 years.”
A Monumental Achievement– “China has achieved significant success in poverty reduction, lifting nearly 800 million people out of poverty since the start of its economic reforms in 1978, contributing to a large portion of the global reduction in extreme poverty; this achievement is largely attributed to rapid economic growth and targeted government policies aimed at rural development and access to education and healthcare.”…
Basic public health service package is provided to all Chinese residents free of charge. (Ordinary people without an appointment can see a specialist on the same day. Free.)
According to recent surveys, based on reported happiness levels, people in China tend to report higher levels of happiness compared to the United States, with some studies even ranking China as one of the happiest countries globally… 95% of Chinese expressed satisfaction with their government while only 35% Americans expressed satisfaction with their government in Harvard and Gallup polls.
So, on the issues that matter most to working people –Wages, life expectancy, poverty reduction, health care and overall happiness– China is leaps-and-bounds above the US.
As far as education, the same rule applies. China beats the US hands-down. This is from Quora:
In China, there is a strong cultural emphasis on education and academic achievement. Families often prioritize educational success, viewing it as a pathway to upward mobility.Parental Involvement: Chinese parents tend to be highly involved in their children’s education, often providing additional tutoring and support outside of school.
Curriculum Focus: The Chinese education system places a strong emphasis on math and science, which are prioritized in standardized testing. This focus can lead to higher proficiency in these subjects.
Standardized Testing: High-stakes exams… create a competitive environment that motivates students to perform well academically.
Teaching Methods
Emphasis on Rigor: Chinese education often emphasizes rote memorization and practice, particularly in mathematics, which can lead to higher performance in standardized assessments.
Teacher Expectations: Teachers in China typically have high expectations for their students, which can foster a strong work ethic and academic discipline.Investment in Education: In recent years, the Chinese government has made significant investments in education, particularly in urban areas, leading to improved facilities and resources.
Socioeconomic Factors
Access to Resources: In many cases, students in urban areas of China have greater access to educational resources, including tutoring and extracurricular programs, compared to their American counterparts. Quora
Can we definitively say that China has the superior educational system, and that the US should emulate that system to ensure our children can read, write and find gainful employment that will increase their chances of prosperity and happiness in the future?
Yes, we can.
Can we also say that living standards in the United States are falling due to income inequality, stagnant wages and chronic inflation? And that the gap between rich and poor is widening? And that the middle class is shrinking? And that poverty, food insecurity and homelessness are getting progressively worse?
Yes, yes, yes and yes.
(Poverty in the United States increased in 2022 and 2023 from… 12.4% in 2022, up from 7.8% in 2021. And in 2023, up to 12.9%…. Homelessness in the United States is a growing crisis, with record-high numbers of people experiencing homelessness in 2024….Food insecurity in 2023, 13.5% of households in the U.S. were food insecure, which is a higher rate than in 2022.)
In the United States, everything is headed in the wrong direction. The political system is unresponsive to the basic needs of the people and only concerns itself with the interests of the donor class that have become simultaneously addicted to violence while hopelessly detached from reality. Is it any wonder why the US is incapable of competing on a level playing field with China?
No surprise at all. This is from Bloomberg News:
Xi Says China’s 2024 GDP Growth Set to Hit Target of Around 5% (while US GDP trails at an anemic 2.7 percent)
Of course, growth is a meaningless metric if the revenue is not devoted to productive activity or improvements in society. In China, a significant portion of profits are recycled into public infrastructure like a high-speed railway network which presently extends over 47,000 kilometers. In comparison, “There are currently only two rail lines in the U.S. that ever reach the 200 km/h mark (124 mph), which is the unofficial minimum speed at which a train can be considered to be high-speed rail.” China’s fastest train is the Shanghai Maglev, which has a top speed of 431 kilometers per hour (268 miles per hour). It’s the world’s first high-speed commercial line.
Here’s another eye-popper you won’t read in the MSM. This is from Arnaud Bertrand at X:
This is stunning: the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) now projects that in 2030, China’s share of the world’s industrial production will reach 45%, more than 4 times that of the US (11%) and more than that of all High Income Countries combined (38%). In 2000, China’s share was just 6% to the US’s 25% and High Income Countries’ 75%. @RnaudBertrand
Here’s Bertrand again summarizing an article at The Economist:
China is now the world’s preeminent scientific superpower – even the ultra-biased Economist now admits so. You don’t become first in science with a population of slaves but with an extremely highly educated population (many of which were educated in the US and voluntarily came back to China, which in and of itself destroys the “slave” narrative) who is empowered to think outside the box and make bold bets. Thinking like this is all about giving yourself all too convenient excuses to stop competing because you lie to yourself about the competition being unfair. It’s not, you’re just worse. The moment you start acknowledging this is the moment you’ll start actually pulling yourself together. Until then China thanks you very much for lying to yourself. Arnaud Bertrand
China has become a scientific superpower, The Economist
From plant biology to superconductor physics the country is at the cutting edge….
The bottom line is that the United States sees the rise of China as an existential threat that must be countered by all means necessary. That is why the US is hectoring China in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea; that is why all the coverage of China in the western press is hopelessly one-sided and negative, that is why Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested two years ago at the Vancouver International Airport, that is why Washington is building anti-China coalitions in the Asia-Pacific, and that is why President Joe Biden just escalated his sanctions on microchips into a full-blown technology war on China. Check out Arnaud Bertrand’s brief summary of last week’s Bloomberg piece titled: Biden to Further Limit Nvidia AI Chip Exports in Final Push, Bloomberg:
This is crazy: Biden’s last act in the chip war before leaving office is to literally build a global technological Berlin Wall.Extremely easy to predict that this will backfire dramatically. Let’s think this through.
First of all, the heart of this initiative is the U.S. now dividing the world in 3:
– Close allies with unfettered access to AI chips and similar advanced U.S. technology
– Adversaries with little to no access
– The rest of the world with restricted access on certain conditions (basically a deal that asks them to choose between the U.S. and China)…Let’s be clear: the U.S. is now dropping all pretense that this is somehow about military or “dual use”, it’s all about raw technological dominance. The goal, spelled out plainly in the Bloomberg article, is “concentrating AI development in friendly nations and getting businesses around the world to align with American standards.”
The problems with this approach are numerous and obvious.
……China, already investing massively in domestic semiconductor development, will only accelerate these efforts. You’re not stopping their progress – you’re guaranteeing they’ll build their own ecosystem. And other “adversary” nations will literally have no other choice than to buy from China.
For the “rest of world” tier, you’re forcing a choice that they’ve all repeatedly said they didn’t want to have to make… choosing between the U.S. and China. But here’s the reality – it’s not even a difficult choice. On one side, you have highly restricted U.S. technology with strict oversight and caps on computing power. On the other, you have open, accessible and considerably cheaper Chinese technology (like open-source Deepseek) and a partner that’s already their largest trading relationship.
For most of these countries, the choice is obvious – and it’s not the one the U.S. wants them to make. Betting that countries will accept U.S. technological oversight and restrictions rather than pursue alternatives is properly delusional.
Even U.S. companies recognize this is self-defeating. Nvidia’s statement is telling: this won’t “reduce the risk of misuse but would threaten economic growth and U.S. leadership.” They understand that fragmenting the global market will ultimately hurt American competitiveness, not enhance it.
Ultimately what this will lead to is a wall that will increasingly isolate U.S. technology while the rest of the world moves on. That’s the irony: in trying to maintain technological dominance, the U.S. is accelerating its own isolation. By forcing countries to choose, it’s creating exactly the conditions that will drive them toward Chinese alternatives.
This isn’t containing China’s technological rise – it’s hastening the emergence of a parallel technological ecosystem that the U.S. won’t be able to control. And ultimately, with the sheer dynamism of China and the much faster growth of the Global South, this parallel ecosystem is very likely to become the dominant one vs a calcified and closed West. @RnaudBertrand
What’s clear, is that this foolish attempt to bully China is going to blow up in Washington’s face and accelerate America’s rate of decline. And that seems like a pretty fair outcome to me.
What goes around, comes around.
Shithole country https://t.co/vKZ0ZACnG4 pic.twitter.com/uUW4vyg9ha
— 𝕚𝖓𝖌o µ𝖘ɔｈ𝔫ҽЯ 🤟🇷🇺 (@ingouschner) January 11, 2025
