What to do about unfair competition from China?

TallFlyer said:
In a purely military sense that would go over very badly for the Chinese assuming a conflict that stays conventional. They may have a huge army, but their navy is barely fit for a bathtub.
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Purely theoretical, since we'd have neither the political will nor the dinero to go to war with the Chinese under any circumstances, but the Chinese have impressive littoral capabilities. Barring another Divine Wind, they'd roll Japan like a 3am drunk, give Taiwan the ole annexation treatment (which if political trends are to be relied upon, they'd grumble a bit and accept since we told them 'best of luck we'll see if we can send some ammo') and sit on a new Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere (with some significantly altered values for who prospers) while New York burns to the ground in the Food Riots.

Accept the reality. We sold our nation's soul. No amount of remember-when and chest thumping is going to change that. Luckily for us, the Chinese appear to be a lot less bloodthirsty than past Emerging Empires.
 
I strongly believe our military has a weapon in its arsenal that would eliminate any threat if need be. I believe this weapons power far exceeds any nuclear technology. I believe it will never be revealed unless used out of necessity, so that other nations could not learn the technology and also obtain that power.
 
mrivc211 said:
When two countries can't come to an agreement over money, they usually go to war. My UC professors all predicted that the road only leads to that path with China. The could not predict when, but said eventually it will happen. That prediction is looking more and more like reality.
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Not true. We never went to war with Japan after WWII... even though Japan filled the roll of China in the 1970s/80s. Anyone remember the books and movies about how Japan was taking over the country? Remember the big hubbub when Japanese bought Rockefeller Center? Ended up being a debacle for Mitsubishi.
Also, with China holding so much of our debt and our economies being intertwined a war would be economically devastating for both sides. While we complain about China holding our debt, it puts them in a tough position if our debt becomes worthless. They have a strong interest in an economically sound US that imports their goods and pays their debts.
 
I dunno, if you go to war you're not really expected to pay the other combatant any back debt you owe them. Of course, they stop selling us cheap electronics.
 
Boris Badenov said:
The home front during a war between the US and China would look a lot like Haiti, except with more guns. In a few decades, when the illusion of a free Republic is finally dispelled, we might be able to field a conscript army and fight the chicoms to a stalemate via a biblical body count (Operation Poor Folks In Front), but I suspect we'll find it much more advantageous to play nice with the New World Order. Wars that involve ordinance are out of style, and we already lost the economic war in stunning style reminescent of the Spanish vs. the US or the French vs. the Germans. Learn Chinese.
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Man, you should write a novel. I would read it.
 
Boris Badenov said:
What would we even go to war over? Taiwan? We telegraphed to the Taiwanese that they're going to swing if it comes to it long ago. Even if we had the political will for a bodybag count that would make Iraq look like Grenada, we would commit economic suicide by doing so. The home front during a war between the US and China would look a lot like Haiti, except with more guns. In a few decades, when the illusion of a free Republic is finally dispelled, we might be able to field a conscript army and fight the chicoms to a stalemate via a biblical body count (Operation Poor Folks In Front), but I suspect we'll find it much more advantageous to play nice with the New World Order. Wars that involve ordinance are out of style, and we already lost the economic war in stunning style reminescent of the Spanish vs. the US or the French vs. the Germans. Learn Chinese.
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Again, people said/wrote the same thing in the 80's. Anyone remember the book "Rising Sun"? Pretty much said the same thing... but about Japan. Learn Japanese.
The problem with any state run economy (and essentially Japan had a state run "capitalist" society), is that it will collapse. It may work for a while, but it will fail as bureaucrats can never really see what will happen in the future. The best thing about the US economy in the past is that it has been agile enough to re-invent itself on a continuous basis as long as we have the intestinal fortitude to let failing companies fail. People put out of work tend to find work- even if it means founding their own business. As long as we continue to have an environment that encourages this we will continue to come up with Apples, Microsofts... heck, other companies that will reinvent themselves. After all, who would have thought that a small mining company from Minnesota would become a producer of medical equipment, electronics, graphic displays, post-it notes... you name it.
BTW, I had a CHICOM colonel as a boss during one military assignment. Interesting.
 
Blackhawk said:
Not true. We never went to war with Japan after WWII... even though Japan filled the roll of China in the 1970s/80s. Anyone remember the books and movies about how Japan was taking over the country? Remember the big hubbub when Japanese bought Rockefeller Center? Ended up being a debacle for Mitsubishi.
Also, with China holding so much of our debt and our economies being intertwined a war would be economically devastating for both sides. While we complain about China holding our debt, it puts them in a tough position if our debt becomes worthless. They have a strong interest in an economically sound US that imports their goods and pays their debts.
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If I remember correctly, his argument was more so over the two countries going to war fighting for natural resources to feed their needs.
 
mrivc211 said:
If I remember correctly, his argument was more so over the two countries going to war fighting for natural resources to feed their needs.
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I can see the US an China stumbling into a war over natural recourses, but it's a fight neither side would want.
 
MikeD said:
Agree, nothing will be done. Especially with China holding so much of our debt.
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You know, they can't exactly dump that debt. They would end up taking a bath on it.

Can they diversify out of the dollar? Sure. But if they do something to make the US economy tank, then they're screwed. They need the US economy to be strong because they export so much to the US.

China can talk a good game, but the United States is the world's biggest economy. A huge exporter like China cannot afford to have that economy go in the toilet.
 
Boris said it pretty artfully, but I'll throw in my .02...

There's an old saying that goes something like, "If you owe the bank a thousand dollars, that's your problem. If you owe the bank ten million dollars, it's the bank's problem."

You get the point, right?

War is fundamentally bad for business. China knows this. So do we.
 
Kestrel452 said:
woohoo
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I want to BE that Russian Captain when I grow up. Four minutes and twelve seconds and he doesn't stop yelling for an instant. And banging the yoke around. And probably tossing off shots of vodka. Я тебя люблю!

The old fashioned telephone ringer was a nice touch, too.
 
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