How China Will Defeat America

by Bill Bonner.Posted Nov 22, 2011.

Don’t expect spending on the pentagon to decrease. Not with our nation’s security at stake. And not with China posing an ever-greater threat.

An article by Yan Xuetong, translated from mandarin, tells “How China can defeat America.” The gist of Mr. Xuetong’s thought is that rising hegemons are a lot nicer than declining ones. Besides that, history is on the side of the rising power.

The US has become a tyrannical power, he insinuates, throwing its weight around wherever it can. China, on the other hand, is a helpful hegemon…a “humane authority.” While the US has military alliances all over the world…China has none. While the US has fought numerous wars over the last two decades, China’s military hasn’t been involved in conflict since 1984.

China has been preoccupied with her own internal issues…mostly related to employment and growth. But China’s economy grew 71 times faster than the US over the last 4 years. At that rate, it won’t be long before US output is actually lower than China’s.

Mr. Xuetong believes China should do as it did during the Tang dynasty, when it brought in foreigners as high ranking officials to help it take its place on the world stage.

No doubt there are other Chinese who are more hardnosed about it. Rarely does one empire give way to a successor peacefully. There are bound to be Chinese thinkers, whose works aren’t translated, who are speculating about how the Chinese can defeat the US in a real war. They’re surely devising a strategy…and developing new technologies…right at this very moment.

How could China defeat the US? Easy, it could spook US lawmakers into spending more money…wasting more military resources…and driving the nation into bankruptcy. In short, it could just wait.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

Since founding Agora Inc. in 1979, Bill Bonner has found success and garnered camaraderie in numerous communities and industries. A man of many talents, his entrepreneurial savvy, unique writings, philanthropic undertakings, and preservationist activities have all been recognized and awarded by some of America's most respected authorities. Along with Addison Wiggin, his friend and colleague, Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. Both works have been critically acclaimed internationally. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning. Dice Have No Memory: Big Bets & Bad Economics from Paris to the Pampas, the newest book from Bill Bonner, is the definitive compendium of Bill's daily reckonings from more than a decade: 1999-2010.

Dave M

It is interesting for Yan Xuetong to say they have not been involved in a war since 1984. The Vietnamese pretty much hammered the Chinese that time, maybe it made them think twice about that sort of thing again.

I suppose the Chinese are just having target practice when they shell Taiwan and don’t really mean to be agressive.

If they do bankrupt the US who will they sell their junk to?
Dave M said KNOW NOTHING

“Dave M said” must be drunk to say “The Vietnamese pretty much hammered the Chinese that time”

Go do some research, it was China HAMMERED Vietnamese HARD!!
Dave M

Well the Chinese forces outnumbered the Vietnamese 2 to 1 and invaded Vietnam in support of the Kymer Rouge.

The Chinese left Vietnam, and over 300 wrecked tanks. The Vietmanese stayed in Cambodia and eventually got rid of the Kymer Rouge. You still think the Chinese won?
phelps

Sorta what Reagan did to the Soviet Union. Now were poised to repeat the mistakes of the past, or are we? There are some real crazy bastards in Congress who believe war is the key to economic revival. Many ordinary citizens believe this as well.
ScottMC

Sometimes all you have to do is stay in the race. There are enough crises going on without going to all the tremendous trouble of taking an aggressive stance, when all you have to do is just wait anyway. Remember Hong Kong? China just waited 99 years, then took it back, no cgt, whammo, those guys know the value of patience.

If China wants to become a ’21st century’ then good on them – someone should at least.

Why doesn’t Australia? We could rejig the Constitution, vastly shrink Commonwealth Government, uniform laws, more efficiency and effectiveness in governance in these modern times. is anyone else thinking along those kind of lines?
KP Chen

Bill, if U.S. is half as nice (not 100% as nice) to China as China to U.S., all these articles you are alluding to might just disappear … plus,

China has 4-to-5 times more of population than that of U.S. Look at this ‘Area of a circle’ formula: A = πr2.

If mainland Chinese performs as good as Americans, China’s economy size should grow to be 20 times bigger than U.S., not 30%, 40% as big.
Johnny Jarvis

The Chinese send their spies to our universities, our corporations, our military contractors and government and of course our PC liberal government eats up the “diversity” it brings. Whatever they can’t steal or get in place to sabotage from the inside they can from the outside through their legions of private and state hackers. They save billions on R&D costs and then pay low wages to produce the same products to compete against us. As made in China has a stranglehold on markets across the world they run huge trade deficits and piles of foreign reserves. They can then take these same foreign reserves and buy in the open or under the radar our land, our property, our businesses and our politicians. All that is left is to colonize their new country they bought for pennies on the dollar as they took advantage of our weak economy, high unemployment, huge debts, and politicians willing to accept any solution to keep them in power even if it means selling our country away. We urgently need laws banning foreign land ownership in the USA and banning foreign birthright citizenship. The Commie Chinese can’t be trusted and they are using Americans every way they can in order to bring us down. Boycott foreign products, boycott foreign businesses, boycott foreign restaurants and don’t hire foreign employees. Take your country back Americans!
*Sparkie*

Right on! JJ but were’re 2 far dn the road 2 turn back now. We Americans r 2 tired and num, and “pissed off” from have’in 2 work 2 jobs cuz of inflation, and the mess the empire has put us in cause of inflation via 1971. When the Chinks r ready. They won’t have 2 fire a shot will just hold up our hands in disgust! Patience said the “wise man” if u sit buy the river long enough u’ll get what u want. Cuz it i’ll b floating by u. “Belly Up!” *S* PS Boy how i hated 2 say that, and i won’t b round long enough 2 c it. But we did it 2 ourselves!
Jester

Remember the play yard game “King of the Mountain?” 8-10 kids trying to push the “king” off the hill. What does the “king” get by staying on top? Bumps, bruises and insults…oh, and some bragging rights.

Maybe we should consider whether being the top world power is worth it…
Tim

Seems I remember another Asian hot shot writing about “The Japan That Could Say No”. Then Japan started their lost decade thing.
Gem

Dear Bill,
Are you not ashamed of the low quality comments? How did US come to this? Is this the future for every country?
And would you please explain how the old Germany managed to revive its economy by spending on defence before WWII. Appreciating every article and insight. All the best
CT

Look around. China has already won. They suckered every greed head corporate manager into moving everything to their island and had them dancing to the dream of profit over anything else. Globalization is the pathetic out come foisted upon the citizens of the world for the investor class of zombies interested in the accumulation of wealth above all else. As long as China swings the carrot in front of them they see nothing else. The owe allegiance to profit only. Pathetic mutants wanting gold toilets to flush their expensive waste down and out into the oceans of the world.
http://howchinawilldefeatamerica john tenby

If China wants to defeat USA very easy is by one means that all the Chinese people to climb on a chair and jump of it together at the same time would create a tidal wave big enough to defeat the USA.
http://strawville.blogspot.com Strawville

China and India are using 20th century definitions of wealth and power, to become 21st century superpowers. Neither of them will get close, the destruction of the environment in these countries will bog them down for a long time.
leo

Native Indians were nice to Pilgrims, taught Pilgrims how to fish and plant corn. We all know what happened to nice Indians.
Happy Thanksgiving
CT

So where is it?
forgotten man

The Chinese are simply using the same tactics as Bin Laden…only without the bombs going off.
Every time some sort of “threat” is percieved the US in psrticular shells out even more money on some “security” project.
Creating the “threat” costs cents, the response costs $Billions.

Weel paid people in government jobs wont be able to understand this is the real threat.
Frank K

So the kind of stupid, hateful, warmongering against China words common in many low-end US webs have arrived here too.

Bill Bonner touched a deep nerve with this How China Will Defeat America piece.

American leadership, principally under G.W. Bush #2 and a large portion of its supremely arrogant citizenry, have screwed their country and themselves royally. Screwed by their own runaway imperial ideology, rampant greed, complete systemic corruption. That is a scientific fact.

But of course, Americans need to find some ‘big foreign evil’ to blame just like Nazi Germany found the Jews to blame for all their troubles. Their favorite is China. As if their own stupidity and delusion are not enough, they cannot stand to see a ‘commie’ China doing so well with economics and money while they drown in their own debt and bullshit. How can American ‘The Greatest’ capitalism beat up by China ‘communism’? Indeed this is impossible to accept by a people who think their country is endowed by God, can do no wrong and can get away with everything.

More and more we are hearing war-mongering against China from federal politicians and their neo-con cronies. This is classic American – Greed Is Good but War Is Better – since it spends a trillion dollar on it every year. The urge to use those fancy military hardware, like playing a violent video game, is addictive.

Bill says China can win by simply doing ‘nothing’. I agree. Given the utter stupidity of everything these days in America, anybody can win against it. All they need to do is ‘nothing’ with respect to America, and just do their own thing.
*sparkie*

Right on Leo. Most of us 4got bout how the Pills thanked them later on! Including me. Happy Trials, *S*
gavin

Why are all neo-capitalist blogs ignoring India’s future in the 21st century? It seems clear to me China, Russia and the US will burn their wealth away on military spending and Keynesian stimulus. But how about India, with a population that is practically born loving peace? Does anyone else see India taking China’s place as the true waking giant?
LeadFlinger

Frank K., it’s obvious that YOU are either NOT an American, or are a liberal and absolutely despise this once Truly Great Country, since you consistently refer to Americans using variations of ‘they’ and not ‘us’ or ‘we.’ You are not one of ‘us.’ You are one of ‘them,’ those who work tirelessly to defeat America because you do not understand her, you are confused and misguided about what America truly is. America is not about Greed, even though there are those who are greedy in America. America is about FREEDOM. In America, if you want to be greedy then you are FREE to make that choice: For a prime example just look at our pathetic government! It has chosen to intentionally deceive Americans about everything and it is purposely destroying us through debt and regulation! It is one of the greediest, most corrupt institutions on the planet, ESPECIALLY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, which loathes American Ideals and our Exceptionalism. Nothing more corrupt has ever existed in America, and it is certain that it’s course will be reversed in due time.

You say, “Screwed by their own runaway imperial ideology, rampant greed, complete systemic corruption. That is a scientific fact.” There is no fact there. What is screwing America is decades of liberal ideology, of which you are an obvious student of, or a brainwashed victim of, which has been infiltrated, corrupted and conquered by socialism, or more accurately, communism. And not Chinese communism, although you can be sure that the Chinese are happy as hell to have like-minded Americans doing their bidding, but American Communism. American Communism is specifically grown here and is geared to defeat America from within. But it’s more than that; it doesn’t only want to defeat America, it’s true aim is to destroy all things American, making them unrecognizable, and to even erase America’s true existence in time. But because it can’t erase America any more than ancient Egypt can be erased, it’s aim then becomes to rewrite American history so that current and future generations will view America with contempt and negativity. And it’s ‘almost’ camouflaged. I say ‘almost’ because it is camouflaged to the ignorant, i.e. the simple-minded fools who can’t recognize it and are seduced by it, but it’s not camouflaged from ‘us’ True Americans who see it and are fighting it daily, i.e., ‘us’ Conservative Americans. You may look like Americans, you may talk in such a manner that you sound like an American, yet what you say and work hard to achieve is as UN-American to the spirit of America as is Shariah law. Obviously, there is no freedom in tyranny.

Yes, WE are facing many problems; yes, WE face an uphill battle; yes, we are facing a major collapse. But we have to remind ourselves that we are living in historic times and will be for some time and that there are no people on earth more able to meet problems head on and eventually conquer them than Conservative Americans. WE are the beginning and the future of America. God Bless the USA.
catt

China will defeat US if Obama is re elected. Obama, is a weak liberal that never owned or ran a business, never served America, has destroyed America from within ,economy, military, foreign policy, you name it the out come has been worse, except for Ossma.
The true demise of this country started with LBJ, slowed by Reagan,down hill there after.
Betty Smith

I’m wondering from this article if China still sees us as an enemy, why are we still doing business with them? Who is dumb here? Do we need all their junk to be happy?
marc gunn

This article is a diversion of who the enemy is. China has done nothing even according to this article. The enemy is OURSELVES, and china is the scapegoat to try to motivate us to get our act together.

And to Dave M, your numbers are suspect and your understanding of the objective may be wrong. The war was brief and may have been a reminder to the Vietnamese not to go into Thailand or the rest of Southeast Asia. In this sense it worked.
Ray

Well Money Talks and BU%#s%it walks. China has all the Money and our Leaders are sure using a lot of shoe leather walking around and tap dancing on all the issues.
AL

Fear of a rising power, fear of the unknown, fear of something diverse and different, fear that lead us americans to invest and withdraw money from our many diverse investment portfolios, fear that keep many americans prejudice and allow discrimination to run rampant across our country that deter patriotnism and manifest disloyalty amongst our population, fear of changing or amending the constitution that can help regulate and strengthen our relatively easy port of entry around our borders, feer to stand up and simply say enough is enough, its time for America to take care of America, its time for us to take back our streets from the gangs, its time we invest in our kids education that will brighten thier future, its time we keep our military at home and around our borders to keep the smugglers out, its time we fix our infrastructure that is ailing many american cities and pushing transportation costs through the roof, its time we stop allowing the politicians manipulation tactics to easily persuade us to vote or simply turn our back on our fellow americans, its just simply time for a change. Fear we keep us wondering, fear will keep China seen as a conqueror rather than what they are. I say we nuke any and everybody that messes with us, i think its time our presidents and politicans talk just as crazy as these othe presidents from around the world; if i was president, out bomb iran for 40 days and 40 nights, and on day 41, they will be waiving thier constitution as white flags of mercy!!!
Steve

The US public dialogue is so plagued with paranoia (even this particular article) that it only really has one possible outcome if things continue along the same path – it will implode.

Only when America starts to treat other countries as respectful equals rather than anticipating the next disaster and pre-empting such with underhanded political strategies and outright violence/war will things start to turn around.

If you want to be part of a global community it makes sense to have more friends than enemies… well to everyone else it seems to… not so sure about the US.

You are all prisoners to the unrealistic fears generated by your leaders and used as excuses for war and ridiculous political actions that actually make your lives worse.

I think all Americans should go travel… go to Africa, go to turkey… go to Thailand… go to Korea… you will find amazing friendly people happy to share and explain their lifestyles… not the plotting and scheming cloak and dagger types that your leaders insist exist in pretty much every foreign country they choose to interact with.
SAWOLF

The author presupposes that the chinese PEOPLE will remain under the yoke of the current regime being bought off with material gain, instead of demanding their FREEDOM.
NoRedChina

china had a war with vietnam in 1979, china is the only one in the world believe china WON the war,

china lost 30,000 in 3 weeks and advance 17kms, and ran back to china.
and chinese believe they almost take the capital of vietnam, lol,

Those who said China won the war, please read this again ok: china lost 30,000 in 3 weeks and advance 17kms, and ran back to china.

haha!!!
marc gunn

You can achieve objectives despite losses. Red Vietnam won against America despite the Americans killing millions, ravaging the country ecologically, and destroying their economy so they were among the poorest in the world.
Skeptic

If it could be done, it would have been done. If it hasn’t been done, it can’t be done.

Not by China, not now, not ever.
mc

If you spend time around Chinese people, you will realize that China has no chance of ruling the world at all. They have been manipulating currencies, stealing intellectual property and making cheap products. They don’t create anything. Name a product that the Chinese have invented in the last 50 years? China has 7 billion people at least 6.5 billion of them will be on welfare.
China Hand

Umm…it is “Mr. Yan”, not “Mr. Xuetong”. Chinese place their surnames first. If the author is ignorant of this most basic cultural aspect of China, how far off the mark must he be about the country’s intentions and policies? But it is a good fit for his audience, most of whom are equally ignorant about China, judging by their nutty Birchean comments.
jay

I agree with China Hand….this story is completely without facts and is just an opinion.
Ruth Sherer

Perhaps reform in economic, educational, and ethical practices are the key to revival, rather than war.
JC

This kind of war mongering will only make US weaker. Written by a person ignorant of China to feed a very willing neocon and racist audience. Let your true color show, white American who think you still rule the world.
Kris the garbage man

Sadly, it is America’s own doing that caused all this mess. If in the early 90′s the US stopped the big corporations from outsourcing jobs to China and other third-world countries then our economy would have been in better shape than now. Greed and ignorance are the words that can easily describe our ordeal today. It’s not too late yet, the US should push to bring back the jobs that were sent overseas for the poor excuse of cheap labor. There are thousands if not millions willing to do those jobs here in the US with greater pride and quality. White, black, brown, yellow, blue, green, or whatever color we are, this is the time for greater unity, as we have shown during the 2 great world wars and the great depression, the great American spirit prevailed and we all came out as victors. We should always bear to heart our motto, “united we stand” and continue the fight without blaming each other. Race, creed, religion, does not matter in this fight–unity does. Like the terrorist and other anti-American elements are doing, they are attacking our unity because they know that without a united front the United States of America will easily crumble.
Mojavegreen

LOL, Nothing personal the article was a good read. Not sure of the accuracy of the article as put little faith in any kind of media. As such I like doing my own research. However the last part of that article is spot on. The U.S. is to busy being politically correct and spends more time apologizing and not wanting to offend sensitives out of fear of being sued. All China needs to do is literally sit back and wait. While the powers that be steadily destroy our own country. It is already is becoming the laughing stock of the world.
Mike

Bribe the Taliban and friends, supply them with weapons and point them toward the Chinese (after all they’re right next door). The West is primarily christian which is a hell of a lot closer to Islam than whatever the Chinese are. We pull out of Afghanistan, rebuild the economy and the Chinese can deal with the terrorists for a couple of decades.
http://saywhatnow dfasdfsf

hah

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