Putting America first plays well to a US audience, but China may supersede the US through its own land and sea based economic trade routes development. Late in 2013 China announced the "Belt and Road Initiative" or One Belt, One Road (OBOR) providing the alternative to in Asia to the US-led initiatives: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
The "Belt and Road Initiative" connects the People's Republic of China and 60 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. The initiative utilizes resources of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has as founding members that the US counts as economic allies such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Australia, France and South Korea.
The OBOR initiative contains two components: "Silk Road Economic Belt" (SREB) forms the land portion and "Maritime Silk Road" (MSR) comprises the maritime portion.
The Silk Road Economic Belt initially consisted of three belts. The northern belt connecting China with Europe through Central Asia and Russia. The Southern belt included Southern Asia and the Indian Ocean. However, China intends to combine the three an integrated belt passing through geographically central Kazakhstan.
Maritime Silk Road connects China with Southeast Asia, Oceania, and North Africa through the South China Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, and the wider Indian Ocean area.
The lesson for the United States shows the danger of national arrogance comes from the 1800's when Queen of England sent ships to China loaded with a train locomotive, rails cars, and enough track to connect the coastal port city of Tianjin with the capital city Beijing about 100 miles inland. The Qing emperor rebuffed the Queen, he stated that they were "clever but useless" and since China was the center of the Universe, then anything not invented in China was of no value. It would be about 30 years before China would allow a railroad to be built and remain in China.
Major American news organizations cover the TPP, however they treat the OBOR with significance. America currently sits as first economically in the world, but that can change if the US gives in to blind American exceptionalism and does not continue to cooperate with the rest of the world's countries as they cooperate and develop apart from the US.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Foreign Balance after WWII
Establishment of Foreign Balance of Power after WWII
Global politics and power sharing between the big three, China, Russia and the United States in the early part of the 21st Century have their roots in the power sharing established in the events prior to and during World War II.
Events of World War II
1910: Japanese rule in Korea began in 1910.
1931: Japan invades China's northern province of Manchuria in September.
1937: Japan expanded operations into the rest of China in 1937
1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia
1940: Germany invades Belgium and Holland and France
1941: Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
1942: United States first counter attacked in Japan on April 18, 1942
1945: Japan surrenders to United States in February
1945: Japan surrenders to China in September
Losses
About 50 million people were killed during WWII.
25 million - Soviet Union
13 million - China
6 million - Jews
7 million - Rest of the world both Axis and Allied forces and citizens. Germany, Japan, Italy, along with the United States, Great Britain, France, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, plus more.
The Second World War began for China in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. By the end of the year, the American legation and press bore witness to the rape of 30,000 women and up to 100,000 soldiers in the Chinese city of Nanking by Japanese during one 30 day period alone. Then the United States watched as Great Britain was attacked by Germany in 1940. The Chinese essentially would fight Japanese aggression until the United States began attacking in 1942 – five years later after the US lost about 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded. By the end of the war, globally 50 million people were dead. 25 million Soviets died during the war, more than all of the other nations combined. Of the balance, 13 Million Chinese died along with the 6 million Jews at the hands of Axis powers. Through the Lend Lease Program, the United States gave $31.4 billion to Great Britain, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France. China received $1.6 billion along with one US Army general. China’s military – largely the Chinese Nationalist Forces, essentially bore all of the fighting alone against the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces for 5 years as Britain and France cut their losses in Asia and focused on Europe. By the end of the long vicious war, China lost in total more people than all of other nations of the world combined less the Soviet Union. Yet, China had received only 5 percent of the aide that the tiny island nation of Great Britain received and 14 percent of what the communist nation of the Soviet Union had been given.
China fought the Japanese for 14 years with 5 percent of the help the US sent to Great Britain.
America fought the Japanese for 3.5 years with 8 percent of China's losses.
From the perspective of the Chinese and Russians, they fought and lost more than the rest of the world.
Therefore, any interaction with the Chinese and the Russians must be understood in context of the price they paid.
Global politics and power sharing between the big three, China, Russia and the United States in the early part of the 21st Century have their roots in the power sharing established in the events prior to and during World War II.
Events of World War II
1910: Japanese rule in Korea began in 1910.
1931: Japan invades China's northern province of Manchuria in September.
1937: Japan expanded operations into the rest of China in 1937
1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia
1940: Germany invades Belgium and Holland and France
1941: Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
1942: United States first counter attacked in Japan on April 18, 1942
1945: Japan surrenders to United States in February
1945: Japan surrenders to China in September
Losses
About 50 million people were killed during WWII.
25 million - Soviet Union
13 million - China
6 million - Jews
7 million - Rest of the world both Axis and Allied forces and citizens. Germany, Japan, Italy, along with the United States, Great Britain, France, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, plus more.
The Second World War began for China in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. By the end of the year, the American legation and press bore witness to the rape of 30,000 women and up to 100,000 soldiers in the Chinese city of Nanking by Japanese during one 30 day period alone. Then the United States watched as Great Britain was attacked by Germany in 1940. The Chinese essentially would fight Japanese aggression until the United States began attacking in 1942 – five years later after the US lost about 2,403 dead and 1,178 wounded. By the end of the war, globally 50 million people were dead. 25 million Soviets died during the war, more than all of the other nations combined. Of the balance, 13 Million Chinese died along with the 6 million Jews at the hands of Axis powers. Through the Lend Lease Program, the United States gave $31.4 billion to Great Britain, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France. China received $1.6 billion along with one US Army general. China’s military – largely the Chinese Nationalist Forces, essentially bore all of the fighting alone against the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces for 5 years as Britain and France cut their losses in Asia and focused on Europe. By the end of the long vicious war, China lost in total more people than all of other nations of the world combined less the Soviet Union. Yet, China had received only 5 percent of the aide that the tiny island nation of Great Britain received and 14 percent of what the communist nation of the Soviet Union had been given.
China fought the Japanese for 14 years with 5 percent of the help the US sent to Great Britain.
America fought the Japanese for 3.5 years with 8 percent of China's losses.
From the perspective of the Chinese and Russians, they fought and lost more than the rest of the world.
Therefore, any interaction with the Chinese and the Russians must be understood in context of the price they paid.
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