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It has been nearly impossible to find objective analysis of China. Most sources are either soft propaganda or irrational jingoism. What are some good sources f

It has been nearly impossible to find objective analysis of China. Most sources are either soft propaganda or irrational jingoism. What are some good sources for a rational discussion about China's growing dominance?

whimsicalism 6y ago
I don't think it is currently possible, there is such a war-footing in the West even among the intelligentsia. Best you can do is to read Chinese documents and try to squint through their own bias or to read academics who have spent extensive time in China recently (ie. past 5 years).
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
throw51319 6y ago
Seriously. There are so many right wing that think they are a paper tiger, and there's so many left CCP apologists that cloud the discussion in their own way. The West needs a completely unbiased body to release a report to the world about where stuff stands. Nobody wants a conflict. We realize our systems are like two huge tectonic plates about to grind against each other... but let's fix it
- ardit33 6y ago
  China looks like Japan in the 20s and 30s. Rapidly developing country, with territorial ambitions around the seas /islands close to the coast, and a almost predatory commercial way of doing business, and a almost nazi like squashing of minorities. History doesn't exactly repeats itself, but it certainly rhythms...
  - PrinceKropotkin 6y ago
    This isn't comparable at all. The territorial expansion was always difficult to sustain and grew from a ravenous, irrational ethnonationalist political culture and the need for oil and other industrializing resources. China's mode of imperialism is inherently based on China's geography and centralized bureaucracy. There is no analogue of the Emperor being both absolutely powerful and removed from day to day decision making. There's not much analogue to the ethnonationalism angle either, their apparent persecution of the Uighurs stems from internal social control, not fueling a war machine, and they've adopted the soviet multinational state. The CCP is much more politically & economically competent and geographically stable than Japan was leading into WWII. The idea of japan attacking pearl harbor was arguably inevitable, but the idea of china doing that is beyond ridiculous.
    - throw51319 6y ago
      He's probably just drawing the comparison as a warning. Because when it comes down to it, the CCP has developed a ethnonationalism of it's own. And that's a powerful thing when the rest of the world is actively trying to shed their identity and become multiculti.
coupdejarnac 6y ago
The Axios Sinocism email list. Edit: this whole thread is insane. Anyways, Sinocism is run by people who have spent significant time in China. It conglomerates Chinese, Western, and Asian news sources and provides balanced commentary.
philipkglass 6y ago
I found this NSCAI presentation "Chinese Tech Landscape Overview" extremely interesting: https://epic.org/foia/epic-v-ai-commission/EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9.pdf https://epic.org/foia/epic-v-ai-commission/EPIC-19-09-11-NSC... It's from May 2019 but was obtained under FOIA more recently. It was submitted here at HN a couple of months ago, but under the baity title "NSCAI Eric Schmidt says Mass Surveillance killer tool/opportunity" so it missed broad discussion. Surveillance is only a small part of the document. It also addresses: - China's homegrown digital innovators - China's dependence on imported semiconductors - AI in transportation and medicine - Banking and payment systems - The future global manufacturing landscape - The future of global development and governance Among other topics. It was the most riveting slide deck that I can recall reading.
DevX101 6y ago
On Chinese history: The Search for Modern China by Spence (1990) On China's history told through several biographies: The Search for Modern China by Schell and Delury On modern China and it's ambitions, from Xi himself (these are speeches so there will be propaganda): Xi Jinping: The Governance of China Volume 1 On tech in China: AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World by Kai-Fu Lee
ptx 6y ago
The Sinica podcast has plenty of rational discussion, usually in the form of interviews with various academics: https://supchina.com/series/sinica/ https://supchina.com/series/sinica/
rawgabbit 6y ago
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/china-and-tibet# https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/china... https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/2402.pdf https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/2402.pdf

whimsicalism 6y ago

I don't think it is currently possible, there is such a war-footing in the West even among the intelligentsia. Best you can do is to read Chinese documents and try to squint through their own bias or to read academics who have spent extensive time in China recently (ie. past 5 years).

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

throw51319 6y ago

Seriously. There are so many right wing that think they are a paper tiger, and there's so many left CCP apologists that cloud the discussion in their own way. The West needs a completely unbiased body to release a report to the world about where stuff stands. Nobody wants a conflict. We realize our systems are like two huge tectonic plates about to grind against each other... but let's fix it

ardit33 6y ago
China looks like Japan in the 20s and 30s. Rapidly developing country, with territorial ambitions around the seas /islands close to the coast, and a almost predatory commercial way of doing business, and a almost nazi like squashing of minorities. History doesn't exactly repeats itself, but it certainly rhythms...
- PrinceKropotkin 6y ago
  This isn't comparable at all. The territorial expansion was always difficult to sustain and grew from a ravenous, irrational ethnonationalist political culture and the need for oil and other industrializing resources. China's mode of imperialism is inherently based on China's geography and centralized bureaucracy. There is no analogue of the Emperor being both absolutely powerful and removed from day to day decision making. There's not much analogue to the ethnonationalism angle either, their apparent persecution of the Uighurs stems from internal social control, not fueling a war machine, and they've adopted the soviet multinational state. The CCP is much more politically & economically competent and geographically stable than Japan was leading into WWII. The idea of japan attacking pearl harbor was arguably inevitable, but the idea of china doing that is beyond ridiculous.
  - throw51319 6y ago
    He's probably just drawing the comparison as a warning. Because when it comes down to it, the CCP has developed a ethnonationalism of it's own. And that's a powerful thing when the rest of the world is actively trying to shed their identity and become multiculti.

coupdejarnac 6y ago

The Axios Sinocism email list. Edit: this whole thread is insane. Anyways, Sinocism is run by people who have spent significant time in China. It conglomerates Chinese, Western, and Asian news sources and provides balanced commentary.

philipkglass 6y ago

I found this NSCAI presentation "Chinese Tech Landscape Overview" extremely interesting: https://epic.org/foia/epic-v-ai-commission/EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9.pdf https://epic.org/foia/epic-v-ai-commission/EPIC-19-09-11-NSC... It's from May 2019 but was obtained under FOIA more recently. It was submitted here at HN a couple of months ago, but under the baity title "NSCAI Eric Schmidt says Mass Surveillance killer tool/opportunity" so it missed broad discussion. Surveillance is only a small part of the document. It also addresses: - China's homegrown digital innovators - China's dependence on imported semiconductors - AI in transportation and medicine - Banking and payment systems - The future global manufacturing landscape - The future of global development and governance Among other topics. It was the most riveting slide deck that I can recall reading.

DevX101 6y ago

On Chinese history: The Search for Modern China by Spence (1990) On China's history told through several biographies: The Search for Modern China by Schell and Delury On modern China and it's ambitions, from Xi himself (these are speeches so there will be propaganda): Xi Jinping: The Governance of China Volume 1 On tech in China: AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World by Kai-Fu Lee

ptx 6y ago

The Sinica podcast has plenty of rational discussion, usually in the form of interviews with various academics: https://supchina.com/series/sinica/ https://supchina.com/series/sinica/

rawgabbit 6y ago

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/china-and-tibet# https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/china... https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/2402.pdf https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/2402.pdf