Xi Jinping presents China as the U.S.’s better.
By Fareed Zakaria Opinion writer October 26, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/=.020ff4d3885f
While news and analysis in the United States continue to be obsessed with President Trump’s daily antics and insults, halfway around the world, something truly historic just happened. China signaled that it now sees itself as the world’s other superpower, positioning itself as the alternative, if not rival, to the United States.
This is not my opinion based on reading the tea leaves of Chinese politics. It is the clearly articulated view of China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping. In his speech last week to the 19th Communist Party Congress , Xi declared that China is at a “historic juncture,” entering a “new era” that will be marked by the country becoming a “mighty force” in the world and a role model for political and economic development. He asserted that China’s “political system . . . is a great creation” that offers “a new choice for other countries.” And he insisted that the country will defend its interests zealously while also becoming a global leader on issues such as climate change and trade.
Ever since China abandoned its Maoist isolation in the 1970s, its guiding philosophy was set by Deng Xiaoping. At that time, China needed to learn from the West, especially the United States, and integrate itself into the existing international order. According to Deng, it should be humble and modest in its foreign policy, “hide its light under a bushel,” and “bide its time.” But the time has now come, in Xi’s view, and he said the Middle Kingdom is ready to “take center stage in the world.”
Xi’s speech is important because this party congress made clear that he is no ordinary leader. He ascended to a second term in officewithout naming any obvious successors from the next generation of party officials, thus maintaining a grip on power far more securethan his immediate predecessors. More important, the party enshrined his thoughts in the constitution, an honor previously accorded only to Mao Zedong in his lifetime. (Deng’s thoughts were added, but only posthumously.) This means that for the rest of his life, Xi and his ideas will dominate the Communist Party of China.
In a recent issue of the New York Review of Books, Andrew Nathan noted that Western policy toward Beijing has generally assumed that, over time, as China modernized its economy, it would become more pluralistic at home and more cooperative abroad. Nathan added, however, that a few writers and journalists, such as James Mann, worried that China instead would stay authoritarian and provide support for other anti-democratic countries.
The reality is not quite as extreme as Mann predicted. China has remained resolutely authoritarian — in fact, even more so in recent years. But on issues such as climate change, trade and North Korea, it has in fact become more cooperative. While Beijing has tried to set up a few alternative international institutions of its own, it is also the third-largest funder of the United Nations and the second-largest contributor to the international body’s peacekeeping budget. China seeks a revision of the international system to accommodate its own rising power, not a revolution and wholesale replacement of the Western-built international order.
In part, China’s new stance toward the world, and the way it has been received, are a result of the continued strength of the Chinese economy and the growing political confidence of the party under Xi. But these changes are also occurring against the backdrop of the total collapse of political and moral authority of the United States in the world. A recent Pew Research Center survey charts a 14-point drop in those who view the United States favorably across the more than 30 countries polled.
Countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Canada now all have a more favorable view of China than of the United States. Many of the countries surveyed — including Germany, Chile and Indonesia — have greater confidence in the leadership of Xi than that of Trump. China has aggressively sought to improve its image in the world, spending billions on foreign aid, promising trade and investment, and opening Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese culture.
Meanwhile, consider how the United States must look now to the rest of the world. It is politically paralyzed, unable to make major decisions. Amidst a ballooning debt, its investments in education, infrastructure, and science and technology are seriously lacking. Politics has become a branch of reality TV, with daily insults, comebacks and color commentary. America’s historical leadership role in the world has been replaced by a narrow and cramped ideology. Foreign policy has become a partisan game, with Washington breaking agreements, shifting course and reversing policy almost entirely to score political points at home.
The shift in reputation that we are witnessing around the world is not so much about the rise of China but rather the decline of the United States.
Read more from Fareed Zakaria’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
China is winning the future. Here's how.
Fareed Zakaria Opinion writer — Washington, D.C.
This week, the front page of the New York Times described the Trump administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s attempt to slash carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. “The war on coal is over,” declared Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. Right under that article was an article from halfway around the world detailing China’s massive new investment in electric vehicles, part of Beijing’s determination to dominate the era of clean-energy technology. It is a tale of two strategies.
The Trump administration has decided to move into a new century: the 19th century. Coal has been in decline for at least seven decades. In 1950, it accounted for half of all U.S. electricity generation. It is now down to a third. Additionally, massive automation of mining has meant that the jobs in the industry are disappearing, down from 176,000 in 1985 to 50,000 in 2017. Machines and software are replacing coal miners just as surely as in other industries. Demand for coal is weak because of alternatives, chiefly natural gas. In the past couple of years, many of the top American coal companies have been forced to declare bankruptcy, including the largest, Peabody Energy.
Despite President Trump’s policy shift, these trends are unlikely to change. Reuters found that, of 32 utilities in the 26 states that filed lawsuits over the Clean Power Plan, “the bulk of them have no plans to alter their multi-billion dollar, years-long shift away from coal.” The reason utilities are shedding coal is economics — the price of natural gas has plummeted in recent years, and its share of U.S. electricity generation has nearly tripled since 1990. In addition, costs are falling dramatically for wind and solar energy.
And, of course, coal is the dirtiest form of energy in use. Coal-fired power plants are one of the nation’s leading sources of carbon-dioxide emissions, and most scientists agree those emissions lead to global warming. They also cause terrible air pollution, with all its attendant health problems and costs.
That’s one of the reasons China, which suffers more than a million deaths a year because of poor air quality, is making huge investments in clean energy. The country has become one of the world’s leading producers of wind turbines and solar panels, with government subsidies enabling its companies to become cost-efficient and global in their aspirations. In 2015, China was home to the world’s top wind-turbine maker and the top two solar-panel manufacturers. According to a recent report from the United Nations, China invested $78.3 billion in renewable energy last year — almost twice as much as the United States.
Now Beijing is making a push into electric cars, hoping to dominate what it believes will be the transport industry of the future. Already China has taken a large lead in electric cars. In 2016, more than twice as many were sold in China as in the United States, an astonishing catch-up for a country that had almost no such technologies 10 years ago. China’s leaders have let it be known that by 2025 they want 20 percent of all new cars sold in China to be powered by alternative fuels. All of this has already translated into jobs, “big league” as President Trump might say: 3.6 million people are already working in the renewable-energy sector in China, compared with 777,000 in the United States.
China is still heavily reliant on coal, which it has in plentiful supply, and it has tried to find steady sources of other fossil fuels. It went on a shopping spree over the past two decades, making deals for natural resources and energy around the world, often paying at the peak of the commodities bubble in the mid-2000s. But over time, it recognized that this mercantilism was a bad strategy, tying Beijing up with expensive projects in unstable countries in Africa. Instead, it watched and learned from the United States as technological revolutions dramatically increased the supply and lowered the cost of natural gas and solar energy. China has now decided to put a much larger emphasis on this route to energy security, one that also ensures it will be the world’s leading producer of clean energy.
Trump has often talked about how China is “killing us ” and that he’s tired of hearing about China’s huge growth numbers. He should notice that Beijing is getting its growth by focusing on the future, the next areas of growth in economics and technology. The United States under Trump will be engaged in a futile and quixotic quest to revive the industries of the past. Who do you think will win?
Fareed Zakaria writes a foreign affairs column for The Post. He is also the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. Before being named to his position at time in October 2010, Zakaria spent 10 years overseeing Newsweek’s editions abroad and eight years as the managing editor of Foreign Affairs. He is the author of “The Post-American World” (2009) and “The Future of Freedom” (2007). Born in India, Zakaria received a B.A. from Yale College and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He lives in New York City with his wife, son and two daughters.
Read more from Fareed Zakaria’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Comments for While we obsess over Trump, China is making history
Fareed Zakaria writes like a child, easily excited by bright lights and loud noises. Remember when Donald Trump launched a handful of Tomahawk missiles and Fareed announced "Last night Donald Trump became president of the United States"? He's still that dumb.
Celia A. Sgroi
10/26/2017 11:11 PM EDT
Takes one to know one, comrade.
Lrobby99
10/27/2017 7:32 AM EDT
Try reading past the first sentence of columns.
Donald Trump has made America irrelevant on the world stage. Which is what Putin wanted when he threw the election to Trump.
WpgManCda
10/26/2017 11:18 PM EDT
America has been irrelevant for at least a decade, i. e., since before Trump came along. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are calling the shots (and they aren't wasting time on discussions of whether or not buildings should be renamed, anthem issues, and suchlike things). Unfortunately, Trump hasn't delivered an effective response, but, in fairness to him, it's probably too late. Good luck!
Wiggletoes
10/27/2017 7:18 AM EDT
America isn't irrelevant. Try receiving an iPhoneX before Christmas or purchasing Apple stock at a good price starting today, or ask your Google Assistant when will it out preform the StarTrac computer, and do I mention Amazon opening your door and leaving your groceries/packages inside while many retailers just quit, or Uber...; America's relevant.
While China is making trade deals all over the world we are going into hibernation and making trade-war with Canada who just happens to purchase more US made products than any country
While China is investing in research , renewable energy education transportation we are investing in coal rich people and bombs
While China becomes more socially and economically mobile we are becoming stagnat
Wiggletoes
10/27/2017 7:07 AM EDT
Its Exxon and their buddy's that have declared war on coal with a 20% NG discount for NG generation in TX where wind generation is rapidly expanding and solar soon to follow; yeah in TX.
"Countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Canada now all have a more favorable view of China than of the United States."
That tend predates Trump. It developed from the aggressive wars launched by the US on Iraq and since. We scared off our friends by acting like lunatics, and then losing the wars we started.
Trump does not help, but before him China never did what we were doing.
BobcyMbGee
10/27/2017 2:43 AM EDT
No. International approval of the USA skyrocketed under Obama.
International approval was about 30% under Bush, 80-90% under Obama, and crashed back down to 20-30% under Trump
Commomsenseguy
10/27/2017 12:15 PM EDT
Correct but Trumpsters are immune to facts
MarkThomason
10/27/2017 7:39 PM EDT [Edited]
No, international approval of Obama declined steadily as he adopted more and more of the neocon policies, attacking ever more countries. It was 90% when he started with big promises, but declined to near half that as he showed the reality of what he was doing.
Of course Trump is now far nearer Dubya, and deserves that.
My point is that under Dubya, then as realization came under Obama, they already disapproved of what we have been doing for 15 years. Now Trump is doing more of it. That is not just about Trump, it is about what he is doing that was done to general disapproval before him.
It is the foolish policy, not the man.
That is especially important because Hillary embodied the foolish policy that Trump is now following, in international relations she was neocon hawk through and through.
Trump promised otherwise, and got votes for that, but of course he lied.
Screen Name
10/27/2017 7:41 PM EDT
Trumpsters could not care less what anyone else thinks of them or of the United States. They want to build a wall around the entire country, and give the finger to the rest of the world. Cuz, y'know, AMERICA FIRST, AMERICA FIRST, AMERICA FIRST!
I wouldn't write off the U.S. just yet. President Trump, after all, will serve no more than 8 years.
Sandys
10/27/2017 12:27 PM EDT
I give the deadbeat less than 4. He'll be gone by the end of his term if not sooner. His fans will be gone also which will really hurt his inflated ego. He's a loser. Where are my steaks Deadbeat Don?
Trump is determined to make his mark as the leader responsible for the greatest own goal in the history of nations.
The Trump supporters, of course, won't understand any of this. It's a shame. Yes, electing an isolationist (and that's the nicest thing I can say about Trump) is bad. Yes, the ideas America has promoted globally -- since WWII -- (which Trump has destroyed) are incredibly important.
But what's quite stupid is that the Trump supporters never listened to the experts. When China replaces the USA, do they even know what that will mean? I suppose since equality is frowned upon by Trump supporters, the white supremacists won't mind when the nation they have thoroughly degraded becomes a minority, and pale skin is inferior, according to the new masters: the Han Chinese.
roddalitz
10/27/2017 7:45 AM EDT [Edited]
As Gove said in the UK, "We've had enough of experts." Experts are obviously part of the elite, unfortunately if we go away from experts we are left with inexperienced amateurs.
Worse, we get people motivated by money and by religion.
As a European (of American origin), the attitude here very much one of normal disdain, which we have for our own leaders. Americans seem to presume that we view the US as a "city on the hill", the world lodestar, but we've always known that is nothing but narcissistic nonsense. The US is a country like any other and now you have elected a toxic idiot.
BDS4PEACE
10/27/2017 7:37 AM EDT
Toxic is right ! The fool is dismantling the Clean Water Act and re-polluting the Chesapeake Bay .
Top Quark
10/27/2017 10:10 AM EDT [Edited]
Although you're right that some of us misguidedly view ourselves as some sort of city on a hill, the fact remains that the U.S. has played enormous world leadership roles over the past century -- for good and bad. I think it's reasonable for Americans to ask people to acknowledge both. And I think Americans need to do a lot of soul-searching about what electing a toxic idiot is doing to our reputation and our ability to make positive contributions.
I grew up in a land of Democracy and Democracy was good. But what do you see nowadays? Democracy led to the most idiot President of the US ever. One who won't open his tax-files, one who fires everyone in his neighborhood, he who offends women, black people and bows for ugly Bannonlike monsters. Xi is President of China. China is upcoming, does a lot of things their own way, but most in the interest of the people, what Trump doesn't do. OK, not everything in China is OK, there is a lot of corruption and dictation at the top. But if we look at the top of this country now we see a lot of Rubbish and corruption as well.
BDS4PEACE
10/27/2017 7:34 AM EDT
And don't forget to stand for the National Armageddon at the football game ????
The USA displaced the British Empire as the leading nation in the world order. It took more than a century, and the tragedy of WWII for that to happen. Today, Britain remains a relatively prosperous nation and continues to take a responsible position in global politics and commerce. By analogy, it would not be surprising to see China ascend over this century (probably sooner) to the "leading nation" status. Preferably this would happen without global war, since that would grossly diminish what would be left to "lead". The USA would remain a prosperous and fortunate nation, with resources and institutions capable of sustaining the well being of its citizens and the aspirations of its founders. This future is clearly possible, but increasingly difficult in the face of zero-sum, nationalist sentiments and behavior by those in leadership positions.
Jack van den Burg
10/27/2017 9:27 AM EDT
With the Brexti in front, Britten will impoverish faster as one thinks. And look for yourself. The USA has a small top of extremely rich people, but the main, main crowd is poor and some are extremely poor. The US is on its way to a third world level with Donald Tramp!
China is not nearly as secure as it looks. It has a debt bubble that is 2.5-4× the size of its economy that has ballooned over the last 10 years. It's so bad that, despite the denials from major officials, the head of their central bank warned of a big crash if things aren't fixed immediately. But they won't be, because it would require firing millions of people, which would lead to instability. Tragically, a market correction is all but a mathematical certainty at this point. Considering that the government's only legitimacy is now derived from rising living standards, I'll be shocked if the CCP in its current form is around in 10 years. More likely is either an abdication of power or massive political and economic instability. I'm surprised Mr. Zakaria is unaware...it has been in headlines consistently in the N.Y. Times, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, and the South China Morning Post recently.
BDS4PEACE
10/27/2017 7:30 AM EDT
On the other hand Jinping is facing up to the challenge while trump continues to screw the poor and reward the rich .
Commomsenseguy
10/27/2017 12:09 PM EDT
the Chinese bubble collapse has been an economic fairy tale for at least 10 years
China and Russia are developing a new challenge - oil futures based on Chinese currency backed by gold. This will provide a viable alternative for the nations such as Iran and Venezuela to undermine the US imposed sanctions as they leave Dollar as their reserve currency. Even Saudi Arabia, the major oil producing nation may look to trade in the new currency as they sell ARAMCO shares to fund their debt. They have to avoid the sale in dollar as the courts in the US are allowing the 9/11 survivors to sue SA. US debt bound to increase with the new tax cuts, Dollar may not maintain its strength providing China and Russia an edge.
Amen . Jinping's dignified , no-nonsense leadership makes our president look so stupid . Embarrassing . But worse , we are a sinking ship of state . The USA must change course or perish .
Convince me
10/27/2017 8:12 AM EDT
Yes, they are a much more stable country since they have a dictator who has a firm grip on power. Much easier to deal with in negotiations.
You should move there.
vinniec
10/27/2017 10:10 AM EDT
Why should he move. You're the one worshiping a wannabe dictator.
Is your pride at misjudging the last election still so wounded that you're unable to see an autocratic China becoming more so under Xi? As the State becomes more autocratic sweeping up private enterprise it allows but one way to think. You seem to have lost perspective.
vinniec
10/27/2017 10:09 AM EDT
The Chinese state is not "sweeping up private enterprise" in China. They are buying it from willing sellers in the West. You should really try to get your information from somewhere other than Breitbart and Infowars.
China thanks you and the entire WAPO organization for your constant undercutting of the American democratic process.
ThanksForTheFish
10/27/2017 8:26 AM EDT
No one is undercutting the American democratic process.
Ashpotter
10/27/2017 8:29 AM EDT
...except the party in power here.
ThanksForTheFish
10/27/2017 8:49 AM EDT
They aren't either. There will still be an election in 2018 and 2020. There are plenty of other issues, but legitimacy of our Republic isn't one of them. The process works just fine, its just the results that we don't like.
vinniec
10/27/2017 10:07 AM EDT
Yes fool, they are. When you gerrymander. When you rig the primary process. When you lie openly for all to see and attack the truth. When you decry the media as fake news. You are undercutting democracy and THAT is EXACTLY what Republicans are doing. You sir, need to wake up from your long nap.
The Party is China and China is the Party. That is a tricky proposition for power. Even one that wants to be accommodated. The US will remain relevant because of its democratic institutions and its endurance even through turbulent times. On the other hand international observers should fear the what if the "stable" and "firm" "leader's" of Russia and China visions come crumbling down by unfortunate market fluctuations or even natural calamities or just internal descent they cannot "handle". Your colleague's article (on WaPo), David Ignatius, is quite enlightening on that front.
Seems like it is appropriate to quote Lord Acton in regard to Xi.
China is ascending on the global stage while the hook is being placed around the U.S. neck to drag it off the global stage. China doesn't spend their money on endless wars but invests globally. They are investing in clean energy & all the U.S. will be buying their green energy products much like we already buy the crap they sell in Wal-Mart. China's leadership thinks in decades, while U.S. leadership, thinks in election cycles. U.S. dollars will continue to flow to China because the Communists are winning over unrestrained capitalism.
ThanksForTheFish
10/27/2017 8:28 AM EDT
US dollars flow to China because of cheap labor.
taxpayer2
10/27/2017 9:37 AM EDT
US dollars flow to China because of greedy Americans who are allowed to make a fast buck while accepting no sense of responsibility for their country! Where are the people who want to save American jobs and 'build really big ships' like in Pretty Woman?
It would get noticed here by the powers-that-be if there was something in it for the Trump family. As it is, it appears there is nothing to see here, keep moving on. Damn those NFL kneelers and the fake news...those appear to be the big problems.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have taken the measure of Donald Trump, and they like what they see: A clueless buffoon in the White House. This could hardly be better for them.
ThanksForTheFish
10/27/2017 8:50 AM EDT
The current occupant of the White House doesn't concern China much, when their view is longer than just 8 years.
Avatar666
10/27/2017 9:01 AM EDT
They put their money on Hillary and lost. Now they have to deal with someone who actually represents America's interest. Doesn't sit well with them but at least they know where they stand with him.
g carpenter
10/27/2017 9:24 AM EDT
Proof that Trump cares about interests other than his own?
vinniec
10/27/2017 10:03 AM EDT [Edited]
@Avatar666, Hey troll, you can get treatment for your Hillaritus and become free of your blathering stupidity. Just google "I need to grow a brain" to find out how. How you slobbering idiots manage to suck air and occupy space at the same time is truly amazing.
Sandys
10/27/2017 12:21 PM EDT
Trump is only for Trump. Any person with an IQ over 100 knows that.
USA rapidly becoming Trumpistan, with all that implies.
ThanksForTheFish
10/27/2017 8:51 AM EDT
No it's not. Just because the current occupant of 1600 Penn leaves much to be desired doesn't mean we're backsliding into third world dictatorship.
taxpayer2
10/27/2017 9:35 AM EDT
The third world (and much of the first world outside of a few countries outside of Europe) is mostly run not by dictators but by large corporations and by very wealthy people. That is EXACTLY what we are sliding into!
Fareed. You guys still don't get it. Only liberal "journalist" like you and the liberal media "obsess over Trump," Paying for lies (dossier) and colluding with Russians and Obama intel agencies to effect the outcome of an election. China is the other super power, no one is missing that.
Gary E. Masters
10/27/2017 9:03 AM EDT
"Affect and effect?" problems?
Wait to see who was paid by the Russians.
Who followed Benedict Arnold?
taxpayer2
10/27/2017 9:33 AM EDT
Another Russian speaking???
Sandys
10/27/2017 12:16 PM EDT
As a lib I don't obsess over Deadbeat Trump and never have. He'll be gone in less that 4 years and then we can clean up his mess just like others have cleaned up his mess in business matters. Where are my steaks Donnie?
Time for the "Avis response:" "We Try Harder."
Sandys
10/27/2017 12:10 PM EDT
No way we try harder with Deadbeat Donnie as President. He's a slovenly joke.
And Trump is congratulating Xi for his increased authority! The next time Trump "demands" that China do something about North Korea, he'll be met with even greater disdain than he was the last time.
Zakaria is exactly right.
The way the rest of the world views us has suffered mightily under Trump.
You can't even do your laundry or eat in a restaurant in a foreign country without being asked what in the world is happening in the USA.
You can't enter a McDonalds abroad without someone commenting that our President is a joke.
You can't have a serious business conversation without somehow having to having to deal with whether the USA's decline is permanent and whether the companies of the world should look East for the future.
The only place America is viewed as still great is in imaginations of Trump's own mind and those of his ignorant supporters.
Even the long-standing support for our institutions and ideals is seriously being questioned.
We Americans view this as an aberration and can assure ourselves it will be corrected soon.
But if it is not, then the damage will most certainly be long-standing -- and maybe impossible to recover from.
Avatar666
10/27/2017 9:38 AM EDT
Mostly nonsense but you have to consider who and where their news comes from. The liberal media (90% anti-Trump) .
There is no greater power in the world today than that wielded by the manipulators of public opinion in America. No king or pope of old, no conquering general or high priest ever disposed of a power even remotely approaching that of the few dozen men who control America's mass news and entertainment media.
http://www.realnews247.com/rule_america.htm
taxpayer2
10/27/2017 9:40 AM EDT
You are either a Russian troll, or live somewhere in the backwoods of Red State America. Time to leave your imaginary world and look around at what is really happening. The 'liberal' media is not the problem, but the fools people like you who you have repeatedly elected to Congress. The brain-washed and ignorant Fox News watchers!
TheITLife
10/27/2017 12:46 PM EDT
Quit watching so much Faux news and get off the Breitbart site long enough to see what is really going on. Deflection on behalf of your President is not working. The truth still prevails. NOTMYPRESIDENT
forester2
10/27/2017 4:22 PM EDT
Trump is a disaster. The media reports that and the Trumpies label the media "liberal and biased". Poor media.
Even hard core liberals and progressives are becoming worried about the fact .....
"For over a year, the Hillary Clinton campaign, other Democrats and liberal pundits have pummeled President Trump and his men with one main weapon: a dossier.
Written by former British spy Christopher Steele, who was paid by opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which received the money from the Clinton campaign, the 35 pages of memos became the Democrats’ vehicle to promote supposed Trump-Russia collusion in the presidential election.
The irony: Virtually all of Mr. Steele’s sources are Russian, meaning Democrats have been indirectly colluding with Moscow disinformation to bash the Trump team for purportedly doing the same thing."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/26/do...
Avatar666
10/27/2017 9:51 AM EDT
Which raises another question. Did the FBI obtain the FISA warrant to have NSA surveillance over the Trump campaign based on the Steele dossier?
vinniec
10/27/2017 9:52 AM EDT
Avatar666
10/27/2017 9:54 AM EDT
You don't like to see the FACTS?
dfritzin
10/27/2017 12:28 PM EDT
Yeah, I do like to see facts. Too bad you are totally oblivious to them.
1) The Clinton paid for opposition research. This is done by all political campaigns.
2) the facts you talk about were known months ago. Suddenly, the RWNJs (like yourself) want to bring them up again to protect your orange messiah. Getting a little hot for you, isn't it?
soccer_jay
10/27/2017 12:55 PM EDT
Who started the evil dossier, a Republican right?
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You are raining on Trump’s parade! Thanks.
All true. Unlikely we can do anything to stop the change of guard. Must be how the UK felt a century ago as the US became the dominant financial and industrial power.
Giving trillions to the richest 5% of Americans somehow feels less than convincing as a way forward. Of course most of Trump’s followers want the US to abandon leadership and they dominate US politics. Democracy in action—little wonder the Chinese scoff
This is a mediocre commentator. It offers nothing beyond a catchy headline and it is stupidly obvious.
This is sophistry - obsessing over trump has not given China an opening. The leadership vacuum created by 45 cannot be filled. It has been a long time since Zakaria had anything original or thought provoking to say.
BlueWave
10/27/2017 4:30 PM EDT
The global leadership position that Trump has abdicated will certainly be filled. Merkel is widely regarded as the leader of the West, Xi widely regarded as the leader of the East, and Trump is widely regarded as a moron.
Nickotime
10/27/2017 5:15 PM EDT
Trump diminished us. Bannon wants it that way.
Not to mention that the U.S. is "at war" all over the place while China invests in business and infrastructure in many nations. China pays for investments; the U.S. pays for munitions. U.S. interventions and military expenses since the Korean War exceed our entire national debt.
How ironic that the military and "defense" industry, designed to keep us safe and free, will be the death of us.
Killik
10/27/2017 4:38 PM EDT
I seem to remember a popular republican president named Eisenhower said something about the danger of the military-industrial complex.Breaking Good
and someone who knew a thing or two about wars.
Nickotime
10/27/2017 5:14 PM EDT
Crawford331..... I hate to be the one to point out to you what everyone around you already knows, you are cranially deficient and politically ignorant and that conclusion after reading just a few lines from you...
soccer_jay
10/27/2017 12:54 PM EDT
Can you please provide some rational to back up your wild assertions?
Killik
10/27/2017 4:33 PM EDT
Didn't Confucious preach stability in the family and society by having a top down system with the ultimate authority in the family with elders and in society with the emperor? If that simplistic explanation is true, isn't Xi just doing what has been Chinese custom for many centuries? Why be surprised at what just happened?
slouching towards washington
OH NOES, MOAR DEBTS AND INFLATIONS.
Ummm...not really. Go check out Dean Baker at CEPR and get yourself some reality.
"The shift in reputation that we are witnessing around the world is not so much about the rise of China but rather the decline of the United States."
I agree completely and that is how the white nationalist zealots like Bannon, Miller, Gorka and Trump want it. This is exactly the outcome Putin was hoping for. A withdrawal of the United States from it leadership role abroad so that Russia and China could step in to fill the void. Anyone still believe Trump is not a KGB agent?
I'm sure this can all be fixed with a tax break for rich people; the Republican 'cure all'.
Nickotime
10/27/2017 5:13 PM EDT
Magic ponies for everyone!!!!
If the author is right, then how to explain that every Chinese who is not corrupt party official, most of all wants to run away from china and leave here in US?
Even corrupt officials are buying US greencard by investing $500K-1M in the US economy.
On the other hand, I know nobody here in the US even considering becoming an expat in China.
Any comments or explanations how to square these facts with the author's point of view? Maybe he is focusing on irrelevant matters?
BlueWave
10/27/2017 4:23 PM EDT [Edited]
Maybe you just made up a bunch of crap? Maybe a lot more Chinese speak English than Americans speak Chinese? Maybe anyone who has millions to spare buys U.S. citizenship along with their Swiss citizenship?
Killik
10/27/2017 4:31 PM EDT
So why are top rank mathematicians and computer scientists that I work with and that are both Chinese Nationals and US citizens beginning to look for jobs in China? These folks are not corrupt party officials as claimed by you.
Quip5112
10/27/2017 4:33 PM EDT
Rollober... maybe you grabbed the wrong yardstick, that could be the answer.
Another yardstick might be looking at our trade deficit with China, look at their latest trade agreements that they have entered into, then look at the ones we are canceling, look at the countries they have agreements with and the ones we are losing... or in the case of the NAFTA agreement we are trying to re-negotiate and we are probably going to blow it up.
This will leave even more US farmers, US manufactures, small business unable to compete in a global (yes global) market.
Should I go on....
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FU fareed
We are not "obsessing" over Trump
he is a danger to this nation
Now I will read your editorial
Quip5112
10/27/2017 4:35 PM EDT
OnlyTheTruth
10/27/2017 4:40 PM EDT
Yes, where does Fareed get off saying we are obsessed? We are obsessed in not allowing Trump and the Republicans to destroy our country. Any gains by China are being helped by Trump and the Republicans weakening our country.
Yes, it is truly sad that the Republican Party, headed by Don Trump, has brought the US down in stature in such a short amount of time. Given that a majority of Americans are horrified by the Republican "leadership", imagine how the rest of the world must view us. Get off your couch and vote for responsible Democrats or the asinine realty TV show will only get worse.
China is a relatively poor country that is not even a regional superpower. Both Japan and South Korea are economically and socially more stable, and have a far better economic future than many Chinese. I am a European, an Italian, who lived and worked in China for almost a decade with my wife, who is Chinese. We were both business consultants in Shanghai and Hangzhou. I know China well. The best and the brightest are leaving the country is large numbers, including my wife and I, and coming to the United States. China is literally falling apart.
Xi has become the most incompetent and authoritarian leader since Mao. He is cracking down on the Internet and the ability of the Chinese people to access both news and information, is putting out false economic and growth number(s) that no one believes are true, is micro-managing financial markets to the point where many foreign institutional investors are pulling out, and the flood of poor migrants from the countryside to the larger cities is creating an employment and economic volcano ready to explode at any moment.
China has serious health threatening environmental issues, economic stagnation, growing real estate bubbles in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and other large Southern cities; and their economy, social institutions, and government have never been so corrupt and disrespected by it's own citizens. China a super power? Can I stop laughing now? What a dumb column.
BlueWave
10/27/2017 4:54 PM EDT
Compared to Italy? Can I stop laughing now?
acarldominic1
10/27/2017 4:58 PM EDT [Edited]
China is a relatively poor country that is falling apart under Xi's failed leadership. The average yearly income of a Chinese citizen is a little over $10,000 US a year. Italy? Over $23,000 US a year. Sorry, try again. Oh, and I am still laughing my friend.
BlueWave
10/27/2017 5:13 PM EDT
How about total GDP? Soldiers under arms? Nuclear ICBMs? Cyberwarfare capability?
You can laugh at the Chinese all you like, but in 1000 years there won't be a single Italian speaker left on the planet. Chinese on the other hand will remain, how shall I say, a "lingua franca".
Nickotime
10/27/2017 5:11 PM EDT
They are leading in alternative energy.
Prior to 2015, their economy was growing at about 10% annually for about the past 30 years. They are the world's fastest growing consumer market.
Italy has an economy bigger than Russia's. China's is second only to that of the USA.
The nominal GDP for the U.S. and China for the year 2022 is estimated at $23.76 trillion and $17.71 trillion respectively, while the GDP in terms of PPP(purchasing power) is projected at $23.76 trillion for the U.S. and $34.31 trillion for China.
China is a going to be a bigger market than we are.
To compare Italy to China says your calculator is broken.
acarldominic1
10/27/2017 5:34 PM EDT [Edited]
Are you trying to be funny? Again, Italy has a population of 60 million people. China? A population of well over 1.3 billion people. China is a population driven economic engine; period. Most Chinese are terribly poor, and will remain so for decades. China has a very low standard of living, no middle class, and are sitting on a powder keg of social unrest because of migration from the poor rural areas of China to the larger cities in the South.
They are not an innovative economy like the US, Japan, and South Korea. They are an image driven economy with very little innovation that the world either wants or needs. However, when they do become a democracy in the future, and the economy opens up to new and diverse ideas and interests, they will eventually become a super power. To call them one today is laughable. End of story.
Mark1234
10/27/2017 5:12 PM EDT
I normally like Fareed's work, but yeah, he's obsessing over China's strengths (and there are many) but ignoring their weaknesses (of which there are also many).
Just like one US President's administration can derail or set back America's progress by decades, it will only take one of China's flaws to set IT back by decades. While the rest of the world keeps moving on.
Maybe China will achieve global hegemony this time, maybe they won't. Personally I think at least one of their weaknesses will derail them again.
acarldominic1
10/27/2017 5:27 PM EDT
You are a smart and well informed man.
moore_te
10/27/2017 5:27 PM EDT
Thanks for an interesting contrary argument.
Vet OD Green 1 each
10/28/2017 2:06 AM EDT
The internet is not very restricted in China at all. I live in Jiangsu Province, and I read the Wapo everyday, without a VPN. People use VPN's all the time, and they are common in big hotels in major cities. There is some blocking, but it is OK. They are preventing pornography from spreading, to name one positive effect. Mostly they are encouraging Chinese business and discouraging foreign ones. China is not North Korea, not by a long shot. It's about business.
It is surreal to hear your comment about their leader being disrespected.
Trump is constantly attacked and disrespected, but after living in China for two years I have never heard a whisper from anyone tbat is negative about their leadership, not one word. But I have seen and heard a lot of optimism about the future. People are working like bees and I see a lot of wealth, hard work, and decency.
Regrettably accurate. Traveling in central America I have noticed that Chinese firms are selling cars aggressively in those countries, while American cars are rare. Not sure why but it seems to be a reflection of our fortunes. And China funded and built the national stadium in Costa Rica, about as powerful a symbol as you can have in such a small country. Meanwhile our idiot president thinks we should build a wall to keep people from the south out.
Our fractured, divisive democracy which values individual freedoms and political correctness is no match Against a hegemonic , authoritarian, far sighted China
thranx
10/27/2017 5:08 PM EDT
Replace "China" with "Nazi Germany".
RobtBrock
10/27/2017 5:15 PM EDT
Replace Trump with Mussolini.
Unfiend
10/27/2017 5:42 PM EDT
China is all about political correctness and formalities... not sure how that is relevant at all.
This is Putin's goal...to sow internal division and get extremists elected. He nailed it in his man Trump. His plan to weaken the US on the world stage is right on track, and trump is his tool.
And we have the DOTUS and a destructive, ideologically driven Congress, who are hard at work making us LESS consequential in the world.
We are diminished on the international stage by the backward, CONSERVATIVE Republican Party and Donald Trump, while China strides into the future.
Putin must be thrilled with the results of his, and their, efforts to delegitimize Hillary, leaving us to flounder with a loser instead of a leader and a legislative body polling in the teens, whose main goal appears to be making America a third world nation, a Bannona Republic.
It is truly sad but the MSM has devolved into an anti-Trump/White House gossip frenzy that ranks right up there with the worst of the super market tabloid journals. No substantive news, just bash away at Trump no matter the truth..
Quip5112
10/27/2017 5:16 PM EDT
Yeah, I hate it when the "MSM" quote trumps words back to us, that is so unfair (sarcasm, eyeroll)
I'm just spit-balling here...maybe you tell Little Donnie John to stop saying stupid stuff...
Just an FYI, there are a lot of other sections in this online paper with lots of other articles, recipes, etc., don't flatter trump into thinking he is the only news in the world
Nickotime
10/27/2017 5:16 PM EDT
You should head over to some alt-news site as this one just makes you upset and whiny.
pch101
10/27/2017 5:19 PM EDT
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Captain Covfefe F52 Fighter Ace
OUR moral authority is collapsing?
You're lionizing a government that runs over protesters with TANKS. That kidnaps and imprisons Hong Kong booksellers without a scintilla of due process.
China is the monster Trump wishes he could be.
BlueWave
10/27/2017 5:15 PM EDT
Moral authority is not a prerequisite to global domination.
Madame Defarge
10/27/2017 5:33 PM EDT
Our moral authority has sunk that low.
Unfiend
10/27/2017 5:40 PM EDT
Lionizing is hardly the operative word. Take a look at the last line of the article:
"The shift in reputation that we are witnessing around the world is not so much about the rise of China but rather the decline of the United States."
I agree that China is by no means a paragon of human rights, but theirs is not a country experiencing a dramatic collapse of moral authority relative to its standing in the past decade.
Trump is such a blithering idiot that he can make the Chinese dictatorship look good in comparison.
And the US will drop another notch when China takes the lead in calming down North Korea. Trump isn't a president, he's a lord of the flies.
Someone needs to take over.
You can thank Trump and his trumpcophants for that. Making America Great again, are they? Obviously not. Of course they’ll continue to delude themselves that they are while the rest of the world, firmly grounded in reality, will continue to laugh openly at their cluelessness.
We are obsessed with Trump because we have to be, he represents the death of this nation if his way of thinking succeeds. This is not hyperbole it is fact, he does not care about the self evident truths on the constitution, he praises dictators and badmouths our dedication to human rights-and he attacks the free press.
Trump is the tyrant the founders feared and their system to prevent tyranny from taking over is being tested, it is not so much this one buffoon but all the others who would come after him if his attacks on truth and human rights and freedom were normalized.
Even if China still needs a lot of time to catch up with America economically, it will certainly one day succeed. The biggest difference between Xi and Trump is that the Chinese think in several decades and not until the next election meeting. What is smarter in the long term, everyone can think for themselves.
Vienna/Austria
drpolarbear
10/27/2017 5:27 PM EDT
don't bet on that one. take a good look at china demographics sometime.
This column is mostly quite good, but it ends with a clanging missed note:
"The shift in reputation that we are witnessing around the world is not so much about the rise of China but rather the decline of the United States."
Actually, it's both. It is an agenda-driven aside to claim that it's all us. China has worked very hard for a very long time to get to where they are now, and dismissing their success as a result of US decline is just pure ethnocentrism. Yes, the US has declined for reasons that go far beyond just one person or one party, but China has dedicated itself to becoming an unassailable Great Power, and has succeeded.
drpolarbear
10/27/2017 5:31 PM EDT
true but the had some unexpected help:
thew decline of the USSR
and a lack of a rise in India and reemergence of a unified and growing Europe.
as for the US: only the foolish under estimate us.
ACCinCA
10/27/2017 6:06 PM EDT
I thought the exact same thing when I read that sentence.
Mephiistus
10/27/2017 6:11 PM EDT
I agree with you that China has worked very hard and will become the first economy of the world very soon, however I have never seen a country in such a hurry to become a third world country like the US. most great empires imploded from within, and the same is happening here. The fabric of our society is falling apart, nothing is sacred anymore, killing elementary school children, 355 mass shootings a year.
A political system that is bankrupt and the people are disoriented, we need to find a lighthouse to bring us back to the basics. We are a nation adrift.
yep, trumps hats should have said: "make China great again".
I am sure in 50 years Donald will be seen as one of china's greatest benefactors.
Madame Defarge
10/27/2017 5:32 PM EDT
MAGA hats are made in China.
Ironic, ain't it?
Iamnotacrock
10/27/2017 5:58 PM EDT
Same places as Ivanka's junk.
Well, we are making history...the worst kind...
I think you meant," While trump obsesses over trump, China is making history." Our history, meanwhile, goes down the toilet. Apparently, trump can't drain the swamp.
drpolarbear
10/27/2017 5:32 PM EDT
Trump is draining the swamp, to make room for the cesspool.
China reflects what Trump aspires to in the same way as he admires russia, in both places the leaders have crippled the free press and authoritarians are widely popular, Trump wishes he could end our free press so he could do the same.
We think we would never fall for that but the evidence worldwide is not good, nations that cripple their free press also cripple dissent-or marginalize it.
If Trump had his way our only source of news would be Fox news and freedom would die. many in China are ignorant of the 1989 protests for example, it is the system Orwell feared but even worse lies are the only version of events they know.
Give me freedom or give me death is a little extreme perhaps but the loss of freedom is like a living death.
Trump isn't waiting for the Chinese to overtake the United States. He's shooting America in the foot to make it happen faster. (Gotta get that Trump Hotel approved in Beijing!)
Being an isolationist is not healthy. You cant complain about the progress and decisions of a country and expect them to sit and wait for you to okay what they do. China is confident that dRumpf is a complete idiot. They don't have to do anything while he burns down the country. Leaving trade deals, denying climate change these have real repercussions as they are embraced and looked upon as business opportunities by other countries. The biggest suppliers of solar and wind equipment is China. The vacuum left by the deal maker will be filled by China and the deals with the European Union and Asian countries will continue. We are an unofficial Brexit! Unilateral deals are stupid as they don't take into account savings form economies of scale and relationships. Sad. America is going back to coal and China is becoming the greenest country on earth. What the hell is going on!
People point to China's rise and say so who needs Democracy, but they have it all wrong it is Democracy and the rule of law that made China's rise possible, China's authoritarianism only works because of the structures the west set up, because of the worldwide legacy of Democracy.
China is able to succeed because of the free flow of information in the west, a world without Democracy would be a disaster for China as well as the world.
china has known periods of widespread lawlessness and corruption, the warlord period for example, the west may not be causing China to become a Democracy but they are successful because of the world's Democracies.
Right on, but 'America’s historical leadership role in the world' is less than a century old. And that leadership was not wanted by Americans, but rather thrust upon them by a world that was backward and self-destructive. It should not be surprising that the wishes of many Americans to just be left alone ('island America') are leading to a democratic accommodation isolating us back into the 19th century. That we will be the backwater as the rest of the world advances is apparently of no concern for many, if not most. Those who came here from abroad were misled by a glossy Hollywood makeup.
m
