Miscellaneous News

[FriedRiceNSpice]

China is able to produce 12x the steel and 10x the number of cars compared to what the US can produce annually, this is a better indicator of the difference in industrial capacity. China also has 10x the manufacturing workforce.

Remember that value-add numbers use the exchange rate controlled by the Chinese government, which undervalues Chinese output.

For example, take the same Tesla Model 3.
The Chinese price is about half the US price. But it's the same car.

So you have to adjust for Chinese prices with an Industrial or Purchasing Power Parity Index.
On that basis, Chinese industrial production would be adjusted with a doubling, to truly reflect actual output.

That gives China a 4x advantage in industrial production.

PPP adjustment would increase Chinese manufacturing value add by 50%, to 3x. Coincidentally, automobile production is considered be a very good proxy for manufacturing output in modern economies - and China also produces 3x the number of automobiles as the US.

 

[delfer]

I wasn't referring to GDP. Going by GDP, China would only have a 1.3-1.4x advantage.

But you mentioned GDP in the very first part of your post? Slightly confused about that.

I was citing manufacturing value add, for which China makes up around 32% of global output - while US makes up 15% and the G7 combined just under 30%.

Indeed, manufacturing value. But that's where the example of multiple Chinese steel foundries potentially bringing in less revenue than a small Rolls-Royce factory comes into play. Manufacturing value doesn't necessarily mean the US has even close to that percentage of factories relative to China or the rest of the world, it just means that the financial value of their factories' production is at that level. But the US, like Rolls-Royce, or Louis Vuitton, inflates prices, has consumers willing to pay much more for their products, and deals with much smaller products and less materials. These types of factories do not tip the scales that much in terms of raw military power and capacity.

While no doubt steel is important in war, steel is unlikely to be the bottleneck for military production. WW2 era militaries were much more steel intensive than modern militaries, yet like you mentioned, nations in WW2 produced far less steel than China does today.

Steel was always important for war. And of course, even though the US will still be able to produce enough for itself, China will still be able to pump out 10x more, which is always an advantage. Anything you have more than your opponent is often an advantage. Not always, but usually.

With regards to land size, that is yet another disadvantage Japan had in WW2 that the US would not have today, as China and the US are roughly equal in land size.

Yes, China and the US are roughly equally matched in terms of square mileage, but if Japan with it's meager land size was such a difficult adversary for the US, an opponent of similar land size and resources would only further hurt the US' ability to counter any move or attack, putting it at an even greater disadvantage.

 

[gelgoog]

Japan in WW2 wasn't just the home islands. They had huge industrial infrastruture in Korea and Manchukuo. The US always diminishes the Soviet contribution to WW2.

 

[AndrewS]

PPP adjustment would increase Chinese manufacturing value add by 50%, to 3x. Coincidentally, automobile production is considered be a very good proxy for manufacturing output in modern economies - and China also produces 3x the number of automobiles as the US.

The "official" PPP adjustment would be 1.7x in favour of China

But remember there are a number of issues with the official PPP and GDP figures
My guess is that the adjustment would be around 2x

 

[PLAwatcher12]

Who said China just want to make US ineffective in the 1IC?
Once US declares war on China, what China wants isn't up to US to decide.

I didn’t say that but, what you said I’m pointing out is extremely unlikely to happen.

I feel like China has an Iran disease. They keep wanting to compromise, they keep want to just be at peace when your enemy wants to utterly murder you. What US has been doing to China with the export controls is literally economic murder and China hasn't done anything proportional. This peace disease will surprise China again and again in this fight against US empire.

The US wants China to go to war as soon as possible it’s in Chinas best interest to wait as long as they can so they are stronger also China shut off rare earth minerals, those are very important

All Chinese islands in the South China sea should be converted into military bases, where all kinds of military assets should be placed. From there, there are more options for attacking the adversaries.

most of the islands China has in the South China Sea are relatively small and not big enough to house military assets, plus they would be destroyed extremely quickly

 

[FriedRiceNSpice]

Japan in WW2 wasn't just the home islands. They had huge industrial infrastruture in Korea and Manchukuo. The US always diminishes the Soviet contribution to WW2.

Soviets contributed probably 70% of the war effort against Germany. Against Japan? Not very much. Kwangtung army in 1945 was third string for IJA. Their best troops had died in Burma and Southern China by that point, and their second best in the islands of the Pacific. NRAs best division were on their way back from victory in Burma and NRA had air superiority at that point. Despite all the KMTs shortcomings, the NRA was by far the army that did the most damage to IJA during WW2.

 

[AssassinsMace]

 

[Franklin]

A truckdriver in China hanging on the edge of a bridge.

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[CHNPHD]

A truckdriver in China hanging on the edge of a bridge.

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So lucky it was early morning

Not that many cars

 

[RedBaron]

China says Taiwan president spreading 'heresy' with sovereignty speech

China accused Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of "heresy", hostility and provocation, after a speech in which he said the island is "of course" a country and there is historical evidence and legal proof to back this up.

Beijing says Taiwan is "sacred" Chinese territory that has belonged to China since ancient times, and that the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state.

Responding, Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said Lai was simply stating historical facts and Beijing's belief the island has been Chinese since ancient times and is not a country is "just a fabricated lie without any basis".

#China #Taiwan

@asianomics