The Great Brawl of China

The number of times I've been asked by Chinese Americans whether or not I'm "Chinese" is a badge of pride for me.  Which is why I'm posting these fun loving links below.  There is an on going debate about whether or not Mainland China is a threat to the United States.  One argument is that China is a growing economic power and that means the US is in decline.  I don't understand this argument, we are both getting richer, why would it matter if China got out in front?  A related argument is that with economic superiority, China could build a bigger, scarier military than we have.  That's possible.  So then the question becomes why would the Chinese see it in their interest to compete with us militarily?  To this there are two answers.  The first is that the militaries of large powerful countries maintain an order which allows commerce to thrive.  That's probably true, but it doesn't matter much to the commercial world which nation is maintaining that order, we all still get rich.  Of course a rich country with a large powerful military could decide to pick winners and losers, and in so doing tightly restrict the flow of natural and other resources.  Which leads us to the other answer.  The Chinese could wish to challenge the US militarily because of past grudges, a feeling of superiority, or because they believe war is fun.

If you accept my analysis, than you probably agree that thoughtful diplomacy is very important. And we're not just talking about the yabbos at the State Department, all of us have a role to play in diplomacy.

And with that I give you The Great Brawl of China!



More commentary here, and more video here.

And a "welcoming" greeting to Joe Bidden, perhaps taken out of context by 1000's of news outlets:

"The United States has entered a long period of decline," wrote economist Xia Bin, who advises China's Cabinet and central bank, on his blog.

And Gary Locke kicking ass and taking names with his personal "diplomatic pouch" and the courage to wait in line at Starbucks!

But is Gary Locke really Chinese?