Another cold war ? China and U.S.

skippy1729

How can we have a cold war with China? Who will buy their plastic dog-crap? Who will but our monopoly bonds?

Skippy

PhysicsMonk

Seriously? NUKES

PhysicsMonk

This shows serious lacking. China also buy **** load of stuff, and a source of demand for the bric, and their markets. Without china, the whole markets of Africa, Brazil, Russia etc will fall, and so will US exports to those markets, and Chinese markets. The US companies are depend on sales in China. China also make export civil engineering, and capital goods like bridges etcs. The quality of Chinese products are actually getting really better, much faster than say Japan, and Germany when they started.

MarcoD

My comment was on terminology. I agree that you can use nukes, but I disagree that you can use MAD. MAD is a theory that countries will not nuke each other. IMO, so far, it has proven correct, but I am one of the people who don't believe in it.

When you say that a China/US conflict may escalate to using nukes (which actually is what MAD doesn't predict), I agree with you.

Personally, if you look at the strategic advantages of a China//US conflict, there are none, or rather, the disadvantages are greater than any advantage. So I expect conflict not with China personally, but with an Arab, African, or Southern Americas nation (there where the resources are).

Evo

Post the research from reputable sources that back you up before you post again.

edward

IMHO opinion we are tagging along with what satellites China has launched and what their capabilities are for reasons other than a cold war nuke situation.

China recently began operating their own version of a GPS navigational system. Up until recently they had to rely on ours. Ironically most of our hand held systems are made in China.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...791556284.html

We would never nuke China. They have reverse engineered our manufacturing and now make our underwear

I think this will be about technology and not nuclear one upmanship.

shashankac655

I would love to see another cold war but not the Arms race part of it only the Space race part of it but i doubt whether it would happen in the same scale.

jduster

I don't see a hot war as a possibility, but a cold war, very likely. In fact, we may be already in a cold war with China, depending how you want to define it.

Pattonias

In all seriousness, I see the Chinese/American conflict as an economic war. Neither the US or China have anything to gain from armed conflict, quite to the contrary they both have a lot to lose. The Chinese are using their sudo-socialist/capitalist direct manipulation to maintain a stable economy while most of the capitalist countries are suffering under a credit driven economic collapse.

If you are looking for a true cold war, look to the middle east. Iran is posturing to become a nuclear power and the war-weary west is trying figure out what to do.

CaptFirePanda

I would say agree, somewhat, with Pattonias. The tension between the US and PRC is not so much caused by ideology - it is more based on economics and natural resources. Resources are the key, imho.

China has a significant amount of very important resources and, in some cases, is able to significantly control global supply (they currently hold ~95-97% of the supply of rare earth elements). This is where most, if not all, of the difficulties will lie. The US hasn't had this kind of competition for resources and, with a shaky economy, the country is not well-positioned to fend off PRC interests.

mheslep

Right, something like that is the prerequisite for a cold war: the threat of a catastrophic nation destroying hot war that would be so costly not only to the principals but the entire world, so that both sides resort to vicious small proxy wars and covert actions instead. What we have here with the US and China is mild disagreement by comparison.

SHISHKABOB

China isn't anywhere near as powerful as the Soviet Union was. I think that the phrase "cold war" should be reserved for competitions between regional superpowers. At the moment the USA is the only superpower on the regional scale of the entire planet.

I could see it happening some day, but it's not going on right now.

mheslep

True for Chinese Navy, Air Force and equipment. Chinese military strength has always been in man power and as one might guess today they have the world's largest active army by man power.

CaptFirePanda

I think the 1960's-1980's definition of superpower no longer applies. We've come through huge economic, technological and social "booms" so to speak. The global culture is very different now than it was then. Resources and not firepower will determine the ultimate winners and losers.

You significantly under-estimate the PRC and it's ability to influence global stability.

SHISHKABOB

if "superpower" has been redefined, then so has "cold war"

I don't disagree that China is a big player, but I do disagree that it is the kind of player that could tango with the USA in the same way the USSR did.

I'm being a little nit picky I guess, but when I think cold war I think of THE Cold War. The situation between the USA and China is NOT the same as the situation was between the USA and the USSR.

CaptFirePanda

"The Cold War" between the USSR and the USA involved two military superpowers. A cold war, however, just requires the two sides to engage in political/economic actions against each other. Military aid to other nations (in order to carry out proxy wars) and/or espionage are also aspects of a cold war.

North Korea and South Korea, as an example, have been involved in a cold war for quite some time now.

SHISHKABOB

Right, I see what you mean now.