Do you think China will overtake the US as a superpower?

I mean, in a lot of practical ways, aren’t they already more powerful than the US? What leverage does the US have to influence anything China does? When did it last win even the most petty exchange of sanctions and get what it wanted? It, like the rest of the world, is all-but-scared of China. China does whatever the fuck China wants. China is currently engaged in universally acknowledged ethnic cleansing, and nobody is doing anything about it. We point at a detention camp, all China has to say is “no, it’s a school” and that’s the end of it.

I don’t think I agree that Trump has shattered any relationships of the United States, he’s just shattered relationships with himself as the President. I believe that the international community sees him for what he is, and that whilst unquestionably a reflection of the country, is not a fair representative for it. He’s a caricature. Biden doesn’t have a hard job ahead on the international diplomacy front, he just has to turn up on January 20th, roll his eyes knowingly and say “yeah, we know, it was a lot, we’re sorry about it. It’s out of our system”

But yeah, whilst perhaps a bit simplistic in my comparison, I think there are a multitude of ways in which China stands apart from Russia and North Korea. Whilst they’re happy to tell anyone and everyone to fuck off, economically they’re not the powerhouse that China is. Everything from the phone in your hand to the TV in your living room to the screws that hold your furniture together were almost certainly produced wholly or in part by China. Economically, you can try and sanction it but there’s only so far you can go before you damage your own industries. The last time Trump tried to sanction China, the biggest companies in the world all rallied to its defence. It didn’t even need to object, it knows the position it has found for itself and it knows that it can be as big of a prick as it wants, so long as it’s a net contributor to western capitalism.

In terms of military, standing forces and physical assets don’t matter. China is a nuclear power. Just the same as you, power projection serves an aim, but it’s not necessary. It holds the promise mutually assured destruction and beneath it, it is untouchable by any means of force.

America is a super power, but it cannot stand alone. It projects power and shields the world beneath its umbrella of military power as a unspoken threat that what it gives it can take away, and everyone else has rolled back defence spending and left themselves reliant on America.

China stands alone. China answers to nobody. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t make public statements. It serves its own interests quietly and ruthlessly and it cannot be stopped, or slowed down. The rest of the world looks at it as the biggest polluter on earth, it’s the only country who had net carbon emissions rise year-on-year during a global economic shutdown. It’s a human rights abuser and a political agitator. Does it even try and account for itself to anyone else? No. It doesn’t need to. What are you going to do about it?

Nothing. They’re more powerful than you.

Marmaduke wrote:I don’t think I agree that Trump has shattered any relationships of the United States, he’s just shattered relationships with himself as the President.

What kind of relationship can you have with a country that could elect a Trump at any time? America is not capable of leading the world. It's been true for a while, Trump just made it more clear. Any nation who doesn't regard its relationship with America as shattered is simply cucked. Say what you will about China, they're not cucks.

I certainly hope not. The US needs to maintain its power of the world show China who really dominates the world.

I hope so.

In general Chinese people are nicer to me than Caucasians.

Uhhh, yeah, duh, look athe mess that is the US right now. And look at China, one voice, one vision, one destination… the US could seriuosly take a few lesson at this point

^ It is inevitable.

What goes up must come down. Kinda like this forum, but it was never up to begin with so meh.