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I wonder how much of the hundreds millions (billions?) of dollars China was able to save due its status as a "developing economy" contributed to its massive mi

I wonder how much of the hundreds millions (billions?) of dollars China was able to save due its status as a "developing economy" contributed to its massive military buildup. Or for that matter, that high priority for all developing economies, putting a lander on the moon. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3004873/china-refuses-give-developing-country-status-wto-despite-us https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3004873/c...

onetimemanytime 6y ago
USA has thrown and will continue to throw trillions at Covid, and has spent trillions in Afghanistan and Iraqi war. So the money is/was there
- smabie 6y ago
  As long as there's an appetite for Treasuries and inflation is held in check, the money to spend will always be "there"
Areading314 6y ago
China surpassed the US in GDP normalized to PPP in 2014, which is the statistic that captures the power of their economy to manufacture and employ military force. Given current trends, it is inevitable that China's military will surpass the US's military power based on their economic prowess and manufacturing capability.
- logicchains 6y ago
  >China surpassed the US in GDP normalized to PPP in 2014 Non-PPP-normalized GDP is a better metric than normalized GDP in this case, as it also captures the ability of their economy to purchase things on the international market. China doesn't make all its military technology internally (and couldn't given it still hasn't caught up to the state of the art in e.g. semiconductors).
- rich_sasha 6y ago
  There was a strongly held belief that Japan will dwarf the US at one point too. And true, Japan has massively developed but is nowhere near a superpower. Also, IIRC the EU as a block has a bigger GDP than the US by some margin, and yet isn’t a “joint superpower”. Money is a necessary, but not sufficient condition.
  - mytailorisrich 6y ago
    Japan could never have dwarfed the US. Germany could never have dwarfed the US. Barring a catastrophe in the US, you need to look at the numbers: Japan is quite small, most of it land is mountains, it has barely any natural resources, its population is about a third of the US's. There was some hysteria in the 80s but factually with such numbers Japan could never have surpassed the US. In addition to that, because of WWII Japan is basically satellite state of the US, which means it cannot do as it pleases militarily (and even politically). On the other hand, China is larger than the continental US, has plenty of natural resources, and has a population 4x that of the US. It is also, of course, not subjected to US domination. The role are reversed and, as China develops, the numbers indicates that China essentially will dwarf the US. This is really what has dawned on the American government and what explains their actions. They're not panicking yet but they are certainly alarmed (Japan never alarmed anyone in the D.C area since 1945). Even the EU makes the US uneasy because, again, they know that the EU can be bigger than they are.
- smabie 6y ago
  GDP with respect to the PPP exchange rate isn't a good measure for military spending as most of the spending I imagine goes through international currencies (and thus determined by the spot rate).
adrianN 6y ago
China is a big country and large parts are still "developing". But because it is so large, other parts are capable of landing things on the Moon.
- lazyeye 6y ago
  Lol
- Reimersholme 6y ago
  That could be said of USA or EU as well though.

onetimemanytime 6y ago

USA has thrown and will continue to throw trillions at Covid, and has spent trillions in Afghanistan and Iraqi war. So the money is/was there

smabie 6y ago
As long as there's an appetite for Treasuries and inflation is held in check, the money to spend will always be "there"

Areading314 6y ago

China surpassed the US in GDP normalized to PPP in 2014, which is the statistic that captures the power of their economy to manufacture and employ military force. Given current trends, it is inevitable that China's military will surpass the US's military power based on their economic prowess and manufacturing capability.

logicchains 6y ago
>China surpassed the US in GDP normalized to PPP in 2014 Non-PPP-normalized GDP is a better metric than normalized GDP in this case, as it also captures the ability of their economy to purchase things on the international market. China doesn't make all its military technology internally (and couldn't given it still hasn't caught up to the state of the art in e.g. semiconductors).
rich_sasha 6y ago
There was a strongly held belief that Japan will dwarf the US at one point too. And true, Japan has massively developed but is nowhere near a superpower. Also, IIRC the EU as a block has a bigger GDP than the US by some margin, and yet isn’t a “joint superpower”. Money is a necessary, but not sufficient condition.
- mytailorisrich 6y ago
  Japan could never have dwarfed the US. Germany could never have dwarfed the US. Barring a catastrophe in the US, you need to look at the numbers: Japan is quite small, most of it land is mountains, it has barely any natural resources, its population is about a third of the US's. There was some hysteria in the 80s but factually with such numbers Japan could never have surpassed the US. In addition to that, because of WWII Japan is basically satellite state of the US, which means it cannot do as it pleases militarily (and even politically). On the other hand, China is larger than the continental US, has plenty of natural resources, and has a population 4x that of the US. It is also, of course, not subjected to US domination. The role are reversed and, as China develops, the numbers indicates that China essentially will dwarf the US. This is really what has dawned on the American government and what explains their actions. They're not panicking yet but they are certainly alarmed (Japan never alarmed anyone in the D.C area since 1945). Even the EU makes the US uneasy because, again, they know that the EU can be bigger than they are.
smabie 6y ago
GDP with respect to the PPP exchange rate isn't a good measure for military spending as most of the spending I imagine goes through international currencies (and thus determined by the spot rate).

adrianN 6y ago

China is a big country and large parts are still "developing". But because it is so large, other parts are capable of landing things on the Moon.

lazyeye 6y ago
Lol
Reimersholme 6y ago
That could be said of USA or EU as well though.