China keeps getting stronger because Trump is weak. All of his chickening out demonstrates weakness to America’s enemies.
23
zenbowman6 days ago
+3
Do you think the US should be engaged in a permanent conflict with China?
Trump isn't "weak", he is hyper-aggressive while also being delusional and maniacal. But he's a symptom of an overall sickness that affects about half the US population, we are simply not fit to lead the world at this point.
3
Filias96 days ago
+15
US is engaged in a permanent conflict with China.
15
zenbowman6 days ago
+2
Yes, it is right now, but that is a mistake that will cost us very dearly.
There's no reason we cannot cooperate.
2
QwertzOne5 days ago
+6
There is a reason, it's not in US interest to allow world to just shift to multi-polar order. Right now world depends on $, it's [dominant currency](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/geoeconomics-center/dollar-dominance-monitor/) in every area. However since 2024, Saudi Arabia [cancelled petrodollar deal](https://fortune.com/2026/04/07/what-is-petrodollar-petroyuan-saudi-china-dollar-strength/). US needs world that uses $, because then debt is not a real problem.
What would would happen if only 30% of transactions were done in $? What if the rest would happen in EUR, GBP, JPY or CNY? Same with reserves, what if the world would move on to these other currencies? US will get into real trouble, because debt will keep growing and MIC needs to start new wars to justify spending money on their wars, however if $ will lose meaning and value, then risk of US bankruptcy gets real, because who's going to pay for that debt? It will be cheaper to crash US economy at some point and buy everything cheaply.
6
JattaPake5 days ago
+3
Didn’t mean to imply China was our enemy; I think a more appropriate term is adversary in the zero sum game of international politics. Russia, Iran and North Korea are enemies in my opinion.
Personally, I prefer co-existence with China.
3
DocVin6 days ago
+17
Most of us in Asia see USA as the bully now. China is a peaceful partner to progress our economies so that we can uplift millions from paverty and give them a better quality of life.
17
zenbowman6 days ago
I think that's certainly a more common view now than 10 years ago according to polls. China might undertake internal repression, but that's something the US and European countries also did while establishing themselves (and its something most large Asian countries \[e.g. India w/ Kashmir, Pakistan with Balochistan, etc\] are relatively used to).
It is definitely seen as less aggressive than the US when it comes to external conflict.
0
zenbowman6 days ago
-3
Good article explaining the likely impact of the war on China's influence. I'm of the opinion that this may not be a bad thing. A hegemonic world order where human rights were often used as a pretext to start unnecessary wars wasn't very sustainable.
A world where the US has to cede influence over Asia to China, and let Europe manage its own defences might start out with some initial conflict, but will likely settle into a reasonable balance of power where nations conduct foreign policy primarily based on national interest instead of tying it to ideas ideas like human rights/political freedom/markets that can be abused (or applied very selectively) to start unnecessary conflicts.
-3
DiarrheaMonkey16 days ago
+1
Having lived in China, minored in Chinese history, etc., I do not see Chinese hegemony over 60% of the world's population as a positive step. Inevitable? Perhaps. But without significant reform, both in Chinese domestic and international politics? Catastrophic.
The US has long since ceased to be a champion of global democracy and human rights, but as bad as its gotten, Chinese hegemony, in Asia and globally would/will be way worse. Let's not forget that the PRC has attacked India, Vietnam, Nepal and Russia, and not in self-defense; they also annexed Tibet immediately upon the CCP securing its domestic power. Taiwanese military technology and the international fallout are the only reasons they haven't tried to take Taiwan over *yet*.
1
[deleted]6 days ago
+4
[deleted]
4
DiarrheaMonkey16 days ago
-3
Outright hostility to citizen participation in the political process. Communist Party domination of any economic sector they want to dominate/gross nepotism. Open about spying on their populace/functionally no privacy rights. Execution or huge jail sentences for comparatively minor crimes. Functionally no environmental regulations/horrific pollution. Homosexuality seriously illegal. Free speech? LOL. So much more.
>What the US does is infinitely worse
You won't hear me defending American domestic policies in a general sense, but compared to China, America is nowhere near as bad. Have you lived in both? Also, a significant portion of Americans' votes make *some* difference. How's that working out in China?
-3
[deleted]6 days ago
+2
[deleted]
2
zenbowman6 days ago
+1
The more important point is that Chinese hegemony is exceedingly unlikely.
What is more likely is some kind of balance of power in Asia between China and its client states on the one hand, and India-South Korea-Japan-Phillipines-Australia on the other.
But yes, I get downvoted to hell anytime I combat yellow peril on these forums. The same people who claim they hate our bipartisan foreign policy of endless war still seem to want to have a policy of endless antagonism with China and Russia, and I'm afraid those two beliefs are completely contradictory.
If we want to scale down our military spending (which we should), we will need to pursue diplomacy with China and Russia (this doesn't mean completely abandoning NATO or Ukraine, but it does mean we need to be open to dialog and compromise, otherwise we will remain stuck in endless war).
1
DiarrheaMonkey16 days ago
Wanting to know what about the government is pissing people off the most is not even close to wanting to fix the things the party sees as critical to keeping them in power and unopposed. You honestly think more than a handful of people will be stupid enough to say "CCP corruption", or "All the good jobs go to family members of Communist Party members", or I don't want to be spied on constantly".
Yellow peril is not the same as accurately describing a highly authoritarian surveillance state.
And wouldn't your BS term Yellow Peril refer to me talking about the Chinese threat to the rest of the world, not their own population. thanks for playing though.
0
Filias96 days ago
This is false dilema.
You should not choose between US or China. None of them are your friends. US power was in it's allies. US is attacking all of them now. But response of it should not be choosing China, which is much worse then current US, but aliance with similar thinking countries. Who don't have power brutally screw you up. While removing US/China dependencies.
0
DiarrheaMonkey16 days ago
+2
It's not a false dilemma because those are literally the only two potential outcomes for next global hegemon, assuming there is one. The EU is too politically fractured, too pacifist, and is the only entity with close to comparable economic power and military potential to the US or China.
>US power was in it's allies.
I'm not sure how you're defining "power", but militarily the US still has a vastly greater ability to project military power and economically compares favorably to either (except domestic purchasing power, spread over 4 times as many Chinese as Americans): US GDP: ~$31,900,000,000,000; EU GDP: $23,000,000,000,000; that's nominal. PPP for the EU is $26,300,000,000,000 to $30,680,000,000,000. So, for domestic expenditures, *almost* as high as the US. China PPP: $44,500,000,000,000; nominal: $20,800,000,000,000.
Again, this is not a false dilemma as it has nothing to do with choosing anything. This is geopolitical reality based on current reality and thee domestic reality of each of those powers.
China's ascension is likely inevitable, but currently comparatively limited military technology, a less sound banking and currency situation, and a lack of significant global allies leave China at a significant disadvantage in critical areas.
2
zenbowman6 days ago
+1
Is there an example of a country that is doing this successfully?
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