Get used to it, the West is going to make greater effort to counter the rise of China. And it is not just about carving up Africa, although there is no doubt that mighty economies crave natural resources.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2012/01/03/commentary/chinese-military-bases-are-about-more-than-just-naval-supplies-and-protecting-trade-routes/

Maybe i misunderstood what i learned about history at university and through observations, but i can't help thinking Western influence is still much better than what ould be offered by a corrupt authoritiarian state.

Funny thing is most regional nations seem to be agree. Can they all be wrong?

Yes, the Chinese are also active in Africa, particularly where there are copious mineral resources! One notes this is not a new phenomena and that the BENIGN Chinese, have been in expansionist mode for centuries.
John seems to be very selective or Americanistic in his complaints.
He seems strangely silent on places like Tibet, or the military expansion of China, that is far and away, massively ahead of any potential threat they might ever face?
And lets face it, the world is changing and power and influence is progressively moving from west to east!
When that transition is complete, will John be just as contemptuous of the new bully on the block?
My bet is, he is already in their camp?
Rhrosty.

Chris Lewis

Thanks for the link to the Prospect article.

What especially caught my eye was this paragraph:

>>Once you’ve purchased the necessary baubles, you’ll want to invest the rest somewhere safe, preferably with a decent return—all the more important because one day you will have to pay your own medical bills and pension, besides overseas school and college fees. But there is nowhere to put it except into property or under the mattress. The stock markets are rigged, the banks operate in a way that is non-commercial, and the yuan is still strictly non-convertible. …The result is the biggest property bubble in history, which when it pops will sound like a thousand firework accidents.>>>

Here's what the Economist has to say:

>>To escape this financial repression, savers have sought refuge first in the stockmarket and then in the property market. Now some are seeking financial asylum abroad. The Hurun Report, a marketing firm, reckons that wealthy Chinese (with over 10m yuan to their name) hold 19% of their assets overseas. (Hurun found that some 85% of them plan to send their children to school outside China and 44% have plans to emigrate themselves.)

Owning foreign property is no longer a dream limited to the super-wealthy. SOME SMALLISH INVESTORS ARE EYEING PROPERTIES IN SECOND-TIER AMERICAN CITIES LIKE PHOENIX, ARIZONA. But what about capital controls, which limit Chinese citizens to taking out $50,000 a year? “I don’t really worry about that,” one investor says. “The Chinese are known for finding all sorts of channels for sending their money out of the country.”>>

(My capitalisation)

http://www.economist.com/news/china/21565277-economic-repression-home-causing-more-chinese-money-vote-its-feet-flight

In addition Chinese investors seem to own many of the apartments in Melbourne's Docklands.

Real super-powers do not suffer capital flight. Generally they benefit from other countries' capital flight.

Just one more reason why I'm sceptical about China supplanting the US as global hegemon.

I think there is more than a little wishful thinking among America-haters when it comes to China.

I stand by my piece "Is the USA in 'irreversible decline'?"

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=13872

Maybe it's time for a follow-up.

Happy new year all :)

Further to my previous post:

I want to re-iterate that when I write "China" I mean "Communist China, the authoritarian behemoth we have all come to know." There is always the possibility that China, like South Korea and Taiwan, will morph into a decent democracy.

Steven, by a decent democracy I hope you don't mean the U.S.A. and its warmongering Allies.

In America, money buys any politician you can name. They're all owned by the corporations and the billionaires. And when they leave politics, they work for the corporations and open all the right doors for them.

Democracy in the U.S. and elsewhere has been corrupted. The military in the U.S. does the bidding of the corporations and rapes and plunders wherever there are resources to make a buck from.

Democracy is no longer a shining light, more a cesspool.

What planet is Chris Lewis on? He refers to China as a corrupt authoritarian state.Well Chris the West has surpassed China or Russia in corruption fascism and war mongering.

Heard of the Patriot Act,legalised assasination and the NDAA? All of these negate Habeas Corpus.As Oliver Stone says the USA is living is an Orwellian State.1700 million messages are intercepted each day by intelligence agencies in the USA.

Open your Chris Lewis,fascism is at your door step and China is not the new terrorist on the block.

Did you know Chris that the Gulf of Tonkin incident which the USA used to send troops to Vietnam didn't happen? No North Vietnam ships attacked US ones.Vietnam was all about Chemical Companies making money by murdering people and the selling of arms + the banks loaning of money to the US Govt for war.They are really disgusting.