China & USA As Partners – Really?! (#25)

It is surreal to witness the drawing together of two nations, out of sheer near-term co-dependence, that in modern times could not have been ideologically and economically further apart just two decades ago, in spite of one deliberately wanting to now morph into a partial version of the other. 

Currently, the somewhat discredited United States, is still the leading beacon and steadfast bastion of the principals of individual freedoms, democracy and free-wheeling modern capitalist economy, soft values that in the past drove it to become the undisputed and only ‘Super Power’ of the World. Modern China, the other nation, has been the polar opposite. Dedicated to communist ideology that must result in political oppression and subjugation of individual rights, and till two decades ago, fiercely committed to a severely under-performing, socialist-communist centrally planned economic model that has led to the destitution of just about every major or minor country that embraced it as their path to egalitarian utopian prosperity, is now emerging as a potential semi-capitalist partner of its ideological enemy, and geo-political-economic influence container and competitor.

China, since discarding the fundamental precepts of its past communist-socialist economic model, approximately two decades ago, and embracing the broad framework of capitalism and its wealth generating capacity, has morphed into a unique and odd hybrid, politically and ideologically still rabidly communist, while converting to and embracing the long hated modern capitalist economic model, which in the past decade has allowed it to explode on to the global scene as a legitimate economic and emerging military, small ‘s’- super power. 

China, with its recently earned economic heavy weight status, and the hordes of accumulated cash in a currently cash starved World, approximately USD $3.4 Trillion at last count, and as the lead funder of the continuing need for critically required additional debt by the U.S. government, sensed an opportunity to further elevate itself on the global stage and unabashedly flexed its growing muscle, demanding of the United States “equal status” as a partner in determining the direction of unfolding important global events; as witnessed by the recent informal ‘summit’ between the U.S. President Barack Obama and the newly appointed Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The United States being heavily indebted to China, to the tune of approximately $1.2 Trillion to-date, and still dependent on it for the further financing of its ongoing fiscal deficits, and being in a severely weakened state from its latest military misadventures, financial indiscretions, and political self-emasculation, had no choice but to agree with China’s softly put but probably insistent demands. 

Can China and the United States really function as global partners in World affairs from here-on-out? In our view, not really. 

Firstly, human nature dictates that there can only be one true super power at any given time. There can be a number of vying powers for the top spot at any time, but when push comes to shove, there can only be one true super power. We are not suggesting that at this time China sees itself as a true equal to the United States. What we do realize is that China sees itself as the only one with the real capacity to eventually surpass the U.S., and become the next true super power. That ambition, emanating naturally from China’s true long term potential and current capacity for growth, is quite apparent. Yet that ambition, is going to make the 'Middle Kingdom’ develop politically and economically in ways that are going to clash said, North Korea will be disarmed of its nuclear with the United States, as the U.S. tries to retain and eventually regain its much weakened pre-eminence in the New World Order. 

At the moment, China’s new leader President Xi has acted astutely and very boldly upon the unprecedented opportunity that presented itself by the concurrent weakness of all the developed nations, and the heavy damage done by the multiple wounds that were self-inflicted by the World’s true super power, the United States. This unprecedented move, made possible by the current weakness of the United States and the growing confidence of China, plays well for China’s new leadership, both internationally and internally. The U.S. leadership acquiescing to meet China on a more equal footing doesn’t so much further weaken the U.S. in the eyes of the World, as most realize the inherent latent strength of America, as it prematurely elevates China, internationally, as no one expected China’s rise to reach this status this early. Even if the U.S. is merely indulging in lip service to the equal status designation, just the fact that it had to, gives China enormous lift in the eyes of its true but few allies, and its far more numerous historic and current competitors.

However, all recent posturing and niceties aside, the United States and China must compete in this volatile, fast and potentially radically changing global geo-political economic arena.  And there, all the fundamental requirements that are needed in their search for personal political - economic influence and dominance, in Asia and other parts of the globe, do not align, but instead pit each against the other. 

The current and temporary financial and economic co-dependence aside, the United States and China are in their current form, politically and ideologically incompatible. China’s rise is beset with external envy, historic mistrust and animosity, and neighbourhood problems, plus intractable internal political and economic structural mal-alignment. America’s recent political and economic decline is serious but inherently superficial and mostly self inflicted, but its core soft value system is still accepted and emulated as the standard by most of the free, or aspiring to be free, people of the World. And just as China has taken advantage of the current weakened state of America to advance its interests, so inevitably must the United States take advantage of China’s fast developing internal problems going forward, all mutual reassurances notwithstanding. China and the United States as global partners? In our view, not really.