The Contest of the Century: US-China Competition in the New Era - How America Can Win | Geopolitical Strategy Book for Policy Makers & Global Affairs Enthusiasts

Whether you know it or not, China is a rising power, and they are here to stay! Whether or not they completely replace the U.S. as THE world power is mainly up to the U.S., not China.Even if you don't think China is going to do so, they are not going anywhere, nor are they going to lose their clout. This book explains how China is going to remain a power in two categories: militarily and economically. This political aspects are attached to these two fore mentioned categories.This book could not have come out at a better time, because as you read the descriptions of what China is doing, you will also read about them in your newspaper, for these are present day headlines.Militarily, China is building up its Navy, not its Army, and they lay claim to all of the South China Sea, where the real battle is taking place. They also want to control the Western Pacific and the Indian Oceans, for that is where their trade and commerce is mostly taking place, and they do not want anyone to threaten their trade routes, especially the U.S. It must not be forgotten that China has a history of oppression and humiliation, and they want to reassert themselves in today's global economy.China may not want to be a global power as such, but they do want control of their own backyard, which is natural for any strong nation. Trouble for them is, other eastern countries are also rising, among them Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and they want to control their local waters off of their coasts. There are a lot of resources in these waters: fish, oil, minerals, to name a few, and these nations want them as badly as China. China, however, is laying claim to all the South China Sea, building ports and bases on formerly empty islands such as the Spratleys and Parcels, and other countries are resenting it. They are turning to the U.S., and inviting U.S. Navy ships to dock in their ports and patrol their waterways.One thing must be made clear on this. China does not want the U.S. Navy in these seas, but the other rising countries do not want to be client states of the U.S., either. They mostly want to manage this on their own, but have the U.S. help whenever they feel they need them. This is a fine line the U.S. has to tread.Economically, China has many foreign companies set up in their country, and is exporting goods worldwide, bringing in immense wealth. They are also going into other countries for mineral and oil rights, and in return, they are building up and modernizing the infrastructure of these countries. With a policy like that, it is hard for these countries not to resist, and if this keeps up, China will not only have the world's largest economy, but other countries will choose China over the U.S. and their top preferred customer, especially in Africa and Latin America.In spite of this, the road here will not be easy either, because no country wants to become a colony of China, not do they want to be used by them. Even though they want to remain politically neutral, they are being forced to take sides in some issues. China, here, is heading in the direction of the U.S. One thing China does have over the U.S. is that China will finance projects these countries want to have, not what the U.S. (or China) wants them to have.Also, China gives out too many loans to easily, and many of these loans may be defaulted, upsetting their economy. The Chinese Renminbi may not replace the dollar, mainly because the Renminbi is controlled by the Chinese government, and many of their industries are state own, socialistic. If the Renminbi is to replace the dollar, they must release their currency on the international market and let it fluctuate in value. In other words, their economy, and possibly its government, must change. The Chinese government does not want to do this, and this is one fault that could hold them back.The U.S. computer system is being hacked by China, which is where China gets most of its ideas for industry. They steal them.This book does point out advantages that the U.S. has. Even though we borrow money from China, China is forced to use their surpluses to buy even more U.S. bonds. They have to, there is no other place to put it, and our system is still safe. If there is a financial collapse in either China or the U.S., both will go down, and they know that.Our competition with China is not the Cold War, and we must not treat it as such. It is a new competition, with a new set of rules, and there is a good chance that we might not win this one. There is a possibility that we can, if we are willing to change with the rest of the world. We need to cooperate with China more, and include them in our economic groups, not exclude them. We can even use this to our advantage.What the U.S. really needs to do, if it is to stay on top, is not hinder China, but support and work with it. Put Chinese personnel on the boards of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Let the Chinese come into the U.S., buy land, and spruce out dilapidate areas here in the U.S. They are doing that in Toledo, Ohio and they can do this is other, run down cities. Let them come in and invest in this country. China is investing in the world, and we need to be a big part of it, not be left out.Above all, we need to get our our house in order. We need to rebuild our infrastructure and educational system. We also need to accept that this is a multi-polar world, not a uni-polar world with us in charge only. We need to change with the world, and co-operate with other countries, especially China, and we need to respect the wishes of other countries. This way, the U.S. will gain more than if we did trying to hang on to everything, which we can no longer do.