Miscellaneous News

Minm said:

Western Europe was destroyed after WW2.

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Doesn't change the fact that they were already wealthy and developed, so helping them rebuild was not in the same ballpark as uplifting countries where most of the population still lives in the countryside, lacks plumbing, can't even write their own names on paper, and whose societies were morphed through centuries of colonialism.

Minm said:

But development isn't their top priority, security is. The threat by the US and its allies means that they can't focus on development. American sanctions force them to put all their efforts into avoiding the sanctions. The Soviet Union never abandoned its allies like that to American pressure

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So why do countries even bother talking to China, or why did China even bother stepping onto the world stage? If all developing countries want are weapons to defend themselves China could've just let Russia take up the heavy slack of uniting the global south, while China saved all its money for home. As for your last sentence, hahaha Vietnam in 1979, regardless of whether you think China won or lost that war, would like to have a word with you.

Minm said:

If you can't see that a developed country ally is worth a lot more than a million man army, then you must be deluding yourself.

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Eh, no argument from me. Its kind of interesting though your previous point was that security trumps development and now you're saying its better for NK to be as modern as SK, than to have a million man army.

Strangelove said:

With the exception of about half Hong Kong's population, who worship everything Japanese without question and think of themselves as honorary Japanese. These HKers will eat Yukushima seafood without question and ask for seconds.

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HK is the only place in the world where I ever saw someone use Sony phone past 2010

Boltzmann said:

Because China is concerned with actually developing and not making spiteful symbolic gestures to please a few foreign observers.

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Relevant to the topic, but we are about to see China changing the stance on North Korea sanction and Cuba.

I say this sincerely, China and USA had a decent relation despite up and downs. China rapidly developed with foriegn investment and technology coming in. Of course, those are not free, and China paid back by backing American luxurious life style and reduce cost of living. China values that relationship and made sacrifice to its international influence. What China did was cringe, but is necessary to preserve its rapid increase in development and we see it was a great decision that paid off.

It appears Americans are no longer valuing this beautiful relationship, and we are about to see an end to China's passiveness. This is not because China 2023 so strong, this is because of American diplomatic choices. They cut off much of the trade between the nations like technology. China no longer benefit in this abusive relationship, and so China no longer follow American foreign policy is natural.

Minm said:

There's a lot that China could do. Why did China approve UN sanctions against North Korea and Iran? Why does China abide by unilateral American sanctions? Why doesn't China prioritise anti American countries in its investments? Why doesn't China break the blockade of Cuba? In the past you could have argued that there would be a risk of secondary sanctions against China itself, but now decoupling is in full swing.

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Back then, China wasn't strong enough to resist the entirety of the west. It's getting there. I wouldn't be surprised at all if China starts being a lot more assertive in the coming decades.

China should open its markets to and actively promote the development of friendly countries like Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, Pakistan, Iran, Brazil, Argentina, etc. I have interacted extensively with people from these countries, and I have no doubt that they can all become first-rate powers. I think you mentioned this in a previous comment and I completely agree with your suggestion.

The non-white world wants to move away from the West. The only non-white ones that side with the US have been brainwashed because of Christianity and/or they want to think they're white hence why would they want to side with the inferiors?

Just like I've been pointing to how Europe has very little natural, especially strategic, resources of their own, the worse can be said of Japan and South Korea. If you've noticed the US dictates to all its allies' foreign policy telling them who they have relations and trade with. Japan and South Korea ride on the US coattails so they can concentrate on economics meaning also they need the US to get what they want from other countries. I just read an article on how Blinken had to report to South Korea on his talks with China. Blinken had to press for South Korean interests to China. They couldn't do that on their own? That basically sums it up that US allies need US muscle to get what they want in the world. One of the reasons China's neighbors hate China is because they're always in China's shadow. They're never seen as "more" important except in Western antagonism of China. If China was to all of the sudden surrender and be a lapdog of the US and the West, China's neighbors would be overshadowed and invisible again.

Japan and South Korea can't turn their backs on the US. The US built this ladder they tell the world goes to the top. In order for the world to climb this ladder, you have to follow US Western rules. This ladder has only room for one to climb up at a time. The only way you can rise is wait until the person above you climbs up at their own pace or you knock them off the ladder but the higher ground has the advantage. Since the US and the West dictate the rules, they're the ones highest up on the rungs of the hierarchy of this ladder.

So where's China in all of this? Over there climbing on its own ladder they built unimpeded by anyone above or below. China is now up there about to surpass the US. Before China, the world was crowding climbing up the US's ladder. Now that the world sees China climbing its own ladder, they're abandoning the US ladder to build their own or climbing up China's. And look at the US's allies angry that China didn't follow their rules seeing China climbing higher than them. They can't abandon the US's ladder because they already spent too much time and resources climbing up it. It would be like starting over from square one all over again. For Japan and South Korea what use to look like they were up there on the higher end of the US's ladder when the world was trying to climb it. Now they're on the tail end.

For petty Asian nationalists, they're okay if they're not number one just as long as they're higher up than mostly everyone else. The classic definition of a sycophant.

North Korea sided with the Soviet Union over China back in the day and people expect China to trust them? Kim purged his pro-China uncle and people expect China to trust him? North Korean historians continue to push their myth of Dangun Joseon while making historical claims on China’s Northeast, and this is supposed to be China’s ally? North Korea is a partner of necessity, not an actual ally.

Look at where the US builds up strong allies. It’s not generally in its own side of the world. The US likes South American countries weak and corrupt; it prefers countries next to China and Russia strong and capable. It should be obvious why that is.

If China is to cultivate strong allies, best do it near Western Europe and America. Not next to itself.

tacoburger said:

The alternate reason is that China actively keep NK in it's pathetic undeveloped state, which is horrible, and again, unproductive.

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It's obviously in China's interests to have a developed and prosperous NK. In fact the CPC have on multiple occasions tried to persuade WPK to introduce economic reforms. For instance, in 2006 CPC invited Kim Jong-il to Guangdong to showcase the enormous success economic reforms had brought China. Kim responded by purging all his pro-China ministers.

As it stands, the primary objective of NK is to act as a buffer state against American military presence right on China's borders. The current iteration of NK fulfils this objective, even if it isn't ideal. Of course China would rather have its own Japan/South Korea, a rich developed economy that also answers directly to Beijing, but that isn't possible with the Kim regime in power.

Eventine said:

North Korea sided with the Soviet Union over China back in the day and people expect China to trust them? Kim purged his pro-China uncle and people expect China to trust him? North Korean historians continue to push their myth of Dangun Joseon while making historical claims on China’s Northeast, and this is supposed to be China’s ally? North Korea is a partner of necessity, not an actual ally.

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And China 'allied' with the US against the USSR, how's their relationship today?

Eventine said:

Look at where the US builds up strong allies. It’s not generally in its own side of the world. The US likes South American countries weak and corrupt; it prefers countries next to China and Russia strong and capable. It should be obvious why that is.

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Strong allies? Countries in EU such as Germany or France? Well, they are developed economies (currently with quite the problems, and the US is basically leeching off them lol), but in terms of military power, they really aren't a threat at all to China, and that's with the unrealistic assumption that they could move their whole military to fight against the PLA (not to mention they likely don't want to do it lol).

SK and Japan? Again, yes they are developed economies (well China is basically eating into their industries lol), and militarily? Really not a serious threat to the PLA alone, they can be a supportive element in a China vs US conflict so there is that. But we all know, that more than allies, they are direct vassals with US military on their land.

Eventine said:

If China is to cultivate strong allies, best do it near Western Europe and America. Not next to itself.

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Allies isn't that easily cultivated lol, not to mention who? Canada and Mexico? It's one thing to have trade and stuff like that, but becoming allies and potentially risk being attacked by the US? Lmao.

As for in western EU, again who? UK? Scotland? France? We all know they aren't gonna be 'real' allies, at best improving relations and trade so they might stay more neutral in an event of conflict with US.

All in all, current stance of China is not to do stuff like NATO and 'allies' like the way US do it, but rather trade and diplomacy while most importantly improving itself, herein the PLA.

FairAndUnbiased said:

Seems like history is repeating itself. Chinese rulers since the medieval era knew that allowing local rulers or popular generals to command personal armies is a bad idea. From the Jin war of the princes to the An Lushan Rebellion to the warlord era of late Qing and early ROC, provincial governors and generals often would launch devastating civil wars. The Tang Empire never recovered from the Anshan rebellion, and that too was started by a popular general. In Russia, like an empire in troubled times, the imperial forces coexist with private ones. Today in Russia both local rulers and popular generals have command of personally loyal forces. This is never a good sign.

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Yes, China has such a long and dynamic history, you can usually find some parallels to Chinese history if you are knowledgeable about China's past.

No surprise here, had there been the slightest evidence, it would have been leaked by US intelligence agencies long time ago.

No direct evidence COVID started in Wuhan lab, US intelligence report says​

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‘Ridiculous,’ says Chinese scientist accused of being pandemic’s patient zero​

Ben Hu denies he was sick in late 2019, or that his coronavirus work led to COVID-19, and newly declassified U.S. intelligence doesn't substantiate allegations against him​

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LMAO - can't live without the Western MSM:

Keep dreaming. The coup is pretty much over.

even former Indian diplomats are acutely aware of the cowardice of the Indian political culture