Anticipating the China problem

How bad is the westerners financial deals if China is being welcome open arms by the countries wanting to join the belt and road?
Do you truly think those countries are uneducated?

 

I mentioned this many months ago...but since we are getting very close......i'll write it again.

china will bankrupt aus shortly.....

 

No one has ever stood up to them before ... learning curve for both sides

 

China won’t bankrupt Australia.
We have our own reserve bank and can print our own money.
Worst case scenario, we go kiss American’s backside for money for favours.
UK can’t save us, they have just been through a messy divorce with EU. No money, No honey.

 

A good, brief summary of Soft Power versus Hard Power on the world stage ... the shift in international politics ... and how it's to the benefit of the US (and their allies) to become the world's EMT rather than the worked police. Something China and Russia are already well versed in.

 

I would like to see the UK be more supportive in other ways. Europe generally. Like sign up to quad

 

'Welcome open arms' is not how I would describe it. Maybe those nations with authoritarian tendencies may do this. Most governments involved in the scheme are dysfunctional and generally poor. Infrastructure projects just don't happen due to the levels of government corruption. China offer big scale projects and mostly use Chinese labour. Such a scheme appeals to these governments.

No, I don't think these countries are uneducated. I tend to grant that people are smart enough to make decisions for themselves without condescending them. Most governments involved in the scheme are nations that don't lead the way in increasing human flourishing.

 

Obviously it is easy to say that when other have financed it. It’s bad deal because they didn’t win the government project.
I know a good deal when I see one, when I see a lemon, I would avoid it.
It is as if someone hold a gun at those government?
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. The saying goes.

 

Doesn't help that since 2016 the US has done a damn good job at isolating and weakening its standing in the world by spitting in the face of its European allies (much like they did when they cooked up a WMD lie to invade Iraq). If you want to unite as a counter-weight to China then you don't go threatening your friends with sanctions over a sensible deal with Iran, nor should you publicly disrespect them in public (Merkel, Macron) while cosying up to authoritarians like Putin, or, for that matter, declare war on democracy at home and seek to weaken the very institutions that underpin Western power.

A responsible and agreeable US is vital to our interests on the whole issue of China, but unfortunately the starker internal political divisions afflicting the US increasingly poison their foreign policy while lowering their moral standing in the world. They're only one election away from having a bunch of anti-democracy extremists take power again which could easily destroy all the efforts now being made to strengthen the ties between like-minded countries.

 

The Morrison government’s recent indisciplined commentary on the possibility of Australian military engagement in a future US-China war over Taiwan is both politically juvenile and potentially damaging to our core national security interests.

For 50 years, successive Australian governments have not speculated publicly on what Australia would do in the event of a military crisis or conflict over Taiwan. Scott Morrison, Defence Minister Peter Dutton and aspiring defence secretary Michael Pezzullo have spectacularly breached that bipartisan convention over the past fortnight.

 

Not to mention spitting in our face with the China trade deal that meant that China would have to import 80% more of specific goods (just happened to be goods we sell to China) and then claiming they ‘have our back’

 

IMO the world's biggest mistake since WW2

 

I'm on the fence about this but I see where people are coming from.

Welcoming a dictatorship to polite society seems counterintuitive but we know that early neo-liberal thought was predicated on democratic, liberal ideology permeating authoritarian governments. The political ideas behind this on the face of it sound true: get wealthy and democratise as Japan, Korea and Taiwan were doing post-war. Problem is, it doesn't always work: Middle East, China etc. Neo-liberalism is on its last legs, as is globalism though. When are in a transition phase that I'm still trying to figure out.

But back to why I'm on the fence; welcoming China to the trading world no doubt liberated hundreds of millions of Chinese from poverty. Mostly thanks to Deng's market oriented policies. This in itself is a terrific thing. We want more people to access the pie that capitalism provides. The problem lies in that totalitarian regimes are brutish and murderous and the CCP is quickly emerging under Xi as a powerful world force that we now have to contend with.

 

Well, looks like its about to become a reality. China's military virtually on our doorstep. Can't blame anyone I suppose, the West (and us) let the fox into the hen house. And by exporting raw materials used to strengthen their military arsenal (amongst other things), we're just dumping fuel on the fire.

Solomon Islands-China deal ‘ready to sign’: Manasseh Sogavare

 

It is pretty much Australia's fault - the Solomon's have been asking for our assistance for over 2 years now, with their tourist income non-existent - Australian aid has dropped by over 13% over the last 5 years - their ability to send farm workers to Australia removed, their island being hammered by climate change - and we have a climate change denying government.

Add is that the Solomon's PM warned Australia in August 2021 that this offer from China was on the cards - and was ignored ... even I saw this warning back in December 2021 (made a note on it) ... Solomon Islands: Opposition Leader says he warned Australia about the China security agreement

Can't blame the Solomon's for doing what appears to be best for the Solomon's

 

I always thought the US military had a base in the Solomons, is that not the case?

 

Indeed...just shows how completely incompetent our current Government is at dealing with international relations. They manage to screw up one relationship after another!

There is only one reason why the Chinese would do this, and it's very much not a good thing...

I think it's a while off, but one day we'll all be wondering..how the heck were we so stupid to just let it happen under our noses?

 

China preparing for war with Australia

Sobering. We need to get our act together quicksmart wrt our defence/offence capability.

 

Well the flipside of this is if full scale war broke out between the West and China, the Solomons can count on the US/Aus not helping them out.

And if China's military bases are littered across the Solomons, they'll be bombed back to the Stone Age in a war, no doubt with many local civilian casualties.