I particularly liked this phrase,
… a country of such vast economic might that your GDP is just a rounding error in comparison.
So how could we normalize relations with North Korea?
I particularly liked this phrase,
… a country of such vast economic might that your GDP is just a rounding error in comparison.
So how could we normalize relations with North Korea?
North Korea is China's rabid pet poodle - It is a great diversion, the Chinese give Kim a poke every now and again to get the world to focus on Korea rather than the Chinese government.
My only worry is that if the "dear leader" totally goes over the deep end slips China's leash we could have a Nuclear tragedy on our hands.
So to answer your question have the Chinese put Kim down and replace him with a sane person.
That would require us to normalize relations with the Chinese, wouldn't it? Or…I guess…since they are our biggest lender, relations are pretty much normalized.
Could we threaten to default?
Could we threaten to default?
Yikes! That's almost as bad as the nuclear option. We and China are symbiotic now, no getting away from it. We send them cash for their many goods, they buy our debt with the profits. We default, we go bankrupt, China's economy collapses shudder
DOGS AND CATS! LIVING TOGETHER! MASS HYSTERIA!
We default, we go bankrupt, China's economy collapses shudder
O.k. Scrap that plan. How about a land war?
I still get a smile every time I see something attributed to analysts.
When I was in the Army, I was a 98C Signals Intelligence Analyst. I actually worked at NSA. Often times, they had a t.v. in operations with CNN on so we could keep up with current events. Every time one of the news casters would say, "Analysts say…" we would look at each other and ask, "Did you say?"
We default, we go bankrupt, China's economy collapses shudderO.k. Scrap that plan. How about a land war?
Can we have it somewhere other than Asia?
Can we have it somewhere other than Asia?
O.k. Scrap that plan too. How about a nice game of chess?
It's funny, I just started a book about 21st Century geopolitics post-Bush called Great Powers that discusses the similarities of present-day China to the America of the late 19th Century. Back then England was afraid of the 'America price' where we flooded their markets with our cheap industrial goods manufactured by an underpaid proletariat that suffered horrible conditions in the industrialized cities.
The author argues that by waiting for globalization, connectivity and rising standards of living to percolate, China will develop its own internal move towards a more open system. Basically that the quest for 'the persuit of happiness' will bring more openess and freedom because the people will demand it.
It's funny, I just started a book about 21st Century geopolitics post-Bush called Great Powers that discusses the similarities of present-day China to the America of the late 19th Century. Back then England was afraid of the 'America price' where we flooded their markets with our cheap industrial goods manufactured by an underpaid proletariat that suffered horrible conditions in the industrialized cities.
The author argues that by waiting for globalization, connectivity and rising standards of living to percolate, China will develop its own internal move towards a more open system. Basically that the quest for 'the persuit of happiness' will bring more openess and freedom because the people will demand it.
Its interesting. I would tend to agree with this. I think China sees what happened right after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the adoption of a more market centric economy in the early and mid nineties. I actually spent some time in Russia around that time and the lack of experience with market economics caused real harship in the form of shortages of essential products. China seems to be looking beyond her borders and seeing the viability of more free market economics, but is afraid of the ramifications economically as well as possible loss of power for the ruling party and is attempting to ease into the system through its use of free economic zones etc.
As China becomes more enmeshed in the world economic environment I think it will gain a larger interest in the sort of peaceful environment that fosters economic growth.