Making America less significant
US-China economic relations
Despite President Donald Trump’s essentially empty promise to make America great again, he is leading a government that is relinquishing its leadership role in the world. It is ceding that role to China.
China has several things going for it: (1) a much lower debt-to-GDP, including $1 trillion of the U.S. debt, (2) a single-party system, which obviates government gridlock, (3) socialism “with Chinese characteristics,” which has guided China to phenomenal growth for the past few decades by selling more goods the U.S. and EU than it has bought from us.
For 70 years following World War II, America gained and maintained its leadership in all sectors of society: Economics, politics, fashion, culture, even the lingua franca (”French language”) became English throughout the world. Everyone wanted to speak English, wear American clothes, hear American music.
But America over the same 70 years has changed, from the “shining city on a hill” to the “policeman of the world” and now it is the bully of the world. It bullies countries without oil and snuggles up to those with it. Russia has one of the world’s largest reserves of oil, so our current government is OK with Russia’s meddling in our elections.
Russia wants to undermine Europe and America’s democracy. China is willing to work within whatever government a country has and compete with the U.S. economically. It is the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy generators, the future of energy. It has a program in place that aims at 50 percent electric cars by 2050 reducing China’s carbon footprint.
China has already given Africa $1 trillion dollars in loans for infrastructure and it has now embarked on another trillion-dollar “Road and Beltway” program in low-interest loans for infrastructure in 60 countries around the world.
Remember U.S. “foreign aid”? Over the past 50 years it has been diminishing to a pittance, while China is expanding theirs. China is spending trillions of dollars on other countries. But then China has trillions of dollars to spend. That includes in interest on about a trillion dollars of loans to the U.S. We are now about $20 trillion in debt and the Trump tax plan will increase that another trillion and a half.
What are our chances of catching up with China? Well, the population of China is about 1.3 billion, while that of the US is roughly 330 million. That means China has 3 times the teachers, students, inventors, entrepreneurs, and geniuses than the U.S.
China also has neither spent nor borrowed money in order to pursue war after war. Its military forces have continued to grow until it is at least as militarily as powerful as the U.S. Their officers have all been given “dry” promotions, while most of our officers have had combat experience.
While our news networks are mesmerized by Donald Trump and the 2020 elections, China has been shifting the world power structure behind our backs and cameras. Tariffs and sanctions against an economic powerhouse like China will not pull the US from under the wheels of this Chinese bus.
