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Comment by chrismsimpson

1 month ago

The rest of the world would likely side with China. The export ban on Fable wasn’t even extended to five eyes countries.

US is going to find itself isolated and irrelevant. And not a moment too soon.

98 comments

chrismsimpson

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matheusmoreira  1 month ago

I do wonder what the world will look like under a chinese hegemony though...

  • marcus_holmes  1 month ago

    China is very inward-looking, though. It's not really interested in world domination in the same sense that Europe was or even the USA was/is.

    • ninjin  1 month ago

      I keep hearing this and I fail to see any reason to believe that it will be the case. Any empire, in the history of our species, has always had an initial "inward-looking" period prior to becoming a full-fledged imperialist oppressor. Edo-period Japan into Imperial Japan, for example. Rather, what I think any budding empire needs a period of growth to become a large enough fish and also to delude its leadership and population into the convenient mindset that their flavour of imperialism is good and justified ("Hakkou ichiu", "The white man's burden", etc.).

      To me, the PRC is at the very end of that process and I recommend anyone doubting this to go and read conversations and listen to the words of the populace that is turning increasingly nationalistic and you will hear the same old tales of revanchism and exceptionalism that we are used to hearing (during my recent visit, I watched the morning news every day for about a week and without fail a military inspection, new ship, new plane, etc. was presented each day). In addition, I think those outside of Asia are very much shielded from the early signs, but go and read about PRC influence and tensions in South Korea, Japan, RoC, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan and you will see something rather different than "inward-looking". To me, here the PRC is simply testing the waters for the extent of the influence of other powers and how far it can go. Likewise, we are seeing overseas naval bases being constructed which sure is an indication for a desire to project power outwards.

      I want to believe that this time it will be different. I really do. Apologists around me say "It will only be Taiwan and the South China Sea, then then it will stop." and I would love to believe them. But can anyone truly internalise the narrative that international utopia will be spearheaded by a deeply authoritarian state that controls information like no other (and gladly exports that technology), disappears its own population at will, spins an increasingly strong nationalistic narrative, etc.? No, sorry, I think the "inward-looking" narrative is simply a convenient way for us to close our eyes and find comfort in ignorance, rather than in facts.

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    • Khaine  1 month ago

      Except of course for claiming all of the South China seas. See the Nine-dash line

  • petre  1 month ago

    Keep an eye on Central Asia and Pakistan then? They are heavily infuenced by China.

  • TheArcane  1 month ago

    certainly better than this one. Look at Africa under western neocolonialism vs China's infrastructure loans