4 ms·

With Europe and a Biden presidency being pro-China, I have serious doubts the western world will be able to face the Chinese century, and I doubt they will cont

With Europe and a Biden presidency being pro-China, I have serious doubts the western world will be able to face the Chinese century, and I doubt they will contain China anyhow. I'm sure that as China gets even richer and starts polluting less, politicians will take pride in that, as if they did anything.

refurb 6y ago
Agreed. Look at Australia. Struggling like a worm on a hook against China blocking their imports. How Australia goes is how the rest of the world goes.
- philliphaydon 6y ago
  I can't tell if your comment is joking or not?
  - refurb 6y ago
    https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114066/china-australia-relations-canberra-very-concerned-over https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114066/c... I’m very serious. Dig into the news reports. China is arbitrarily blocking Australian imports of wine, seafood, coal based on “irregularities” that require “inspection” that amazingly results in product spoilage. China is turning the screws on Australia for past transgressions. China makes up a huge percentage of Australian exports so it’s not hard for China to economically hurt Australia at little cost to themselves. Watch how it plays out. It will be eye opening. My opinion is this is a test case and an attempt to split Australia off from the western group of countries.
    - runawaybottle 6y ago
      Plus they own like 20% of Australia’s real estate. You guys got in bed with the wrong people.
      - rchaud 6y ago
        Who's 'you guys' and who's 'they'? Did the Chinese navy show up on Australian shores and take the property at gunpoint? Or did a local seller conduct business with a Chinese buyer and make money?
        runawaybottle 6y ago
        Many ways to fight war I suppose. Won’t get into the semantics of this if you think I need to put a gun to your head to get what I want.
        rchaud 6y ago
        You appear to be saying that property acquisitions are happening under some kind of duress on the seller's side. That's what I'm trying to get clarification on. I'm inclined to think that it's a deal between a buyer and a seller. If you feel selling to Chinese nationals presents a national security issue, then you could be more clear about that.
    - philliphaydon 6y ago
      I think a lot of this only serves to hurt china more than Australia, not that china would ever admit they are hurting. I don't really want to go investigating this, but I can't take SCMP seriously since it turned very pro china after being aquired by Alibaba.
      - refurb 6y ago
        Do a search in other media outlets, even Western ones, it's a major concern. And yes, China is hurting a bit. Apparently the reduced coal imports are causing issues, but with wine and other food items, they have other countries they can buy from. China is what? 20x the size of Australia? A little hurt in China means a lot of hurt in Australia.
        philliphaydon 6y ago
        Australia needs to reduce its dependency on coal anyway with china committing to carbon reduction by 2050 and (can’t think of the other country) committing to 2030. So the coal is a good kick for Australia. The rest I think time will tell.
matwood 6y ago
> With Europe and a Biden presidency being pro-China, Huh?
sdwa 6y ago
There's no chance of Biden going easy on China, that would be political suicide. What might change is that Biden will lean more on multilateralism to build a coalition of democracies against China in contrast to Trump's reality TV "America first" approach.
LatteLazy 6y ago
I'm not sure why you've been downvoted. Biden may or may not be Pro China, but he's made zero commitments so far to deal with any of the current issues the world has with the PRC... (Hong Kong, Democracy and the rule of law, Covid 19, lies around Covid 19, the ongoing treatment of minorities, slavery and forced labour, the aggression towards its immediate neighbours, treatment of Taiwan and other issues) To be clear, I'm no Trump fan (he not only did nothing but lied and said he would/was taking action). I'm just saying I think presidents don't have much power over this (it's mainly economic policy) and Biden hasn't given any indication he will spend capital on this as far as I know... Edit: now I don't know why I've been downvoted either! C'est la Vie.

refurb 6y ago

Agreed. Look at Australia. Struggling like a worm on a hook against China blocking their imports. How Australia goes is how the rest of the world goes.

philliphaydon 6y ago
I can't tell if your comment is joking or not?
- refurb 6y ago
  https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114066/china-australia-relations-canberra-very-concerned-over https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114066/c... I’m very serious. Dig into the news reports. China is arbitrarily blocking Australian imports of wine, seafood, coal based on “irregularities” that require “inspection” that amazingly results in product spoilage. China is turning the screws on Australia for past transgressions. China makes up a huge percentage of Australian exports so it’s not hard for China to economically hurt Australia at little cost to themselves. Watch how it plays out. It will be eye opening. My opinion is this is a test case and an attempt to split Australia off from the western group of countries.
  - runawaybottle 6y ago
    Plus they own like 20% of Australia’s real estate. You guys got in bed with the wrong people.
    - rchaud 6y ago
      Who's 'you guys' and who's 'they'? Did the Chinese navy show up on Australian shores and take the property at gunpoint? Or did a local seller conduct business with a Chinese buyer and make money?
      - runawaybottle 6y ago
        Many ways to fight war I suppose. Won’t get into the semantics of this if you think I need to put a gun to your head to get what I want.
        rchaud 6y ago
        You appear to be saying that property acquisitions are happening under some kind of duress on the seller's side. That's what I'm trying to get clarification on. I'm inclined to think that it's a deal between a buyer and a seller. If you feel selling to Chinese nationals presents a national security issue, then you could be more clear about that.
  - philliphaydon 6y ago
    I think a lot of this only serves to hurt china more than Australia, not that china would ever admit they are hurting. I don't really want to go investigating this, but I can't take SCMP seriously since it turned very pro china after being aquired by Alibaba.
    - refurb 6y ago
      Do a search in other media outlets, even Western ones, it's a major concern. And yes, China is hurting a bit. Apparently the reduced coal imports are causing issues, but with wine and other food items, they have other countries they can buy from. China is what? 20x the size of Australia? A little hurt in China means a lot of hurt in Australia.
      - philliphaydon 6y ago
        Australia needs to reduce its dependency on coal anyway with china committing to carbon reduction by 2050 and (can’t think of the other country) committing to 2030. So the coal is a good kick for Australia. The rest I think time will tell.

matwood 6y ago

> With Europe and a Biden presidency being pro-China, Huh?

sdwa 6y ago

There's no chance of Biden going easy on China, that would be political suicide. What might change is that Biden will lean more on multilateralism to build a coalition of democracies against China in contrast to Trump's reality TV "America first" approach.

LatteLazy 6y ago

I'm not sure why you've been downvoted. Biden may or may not be Pro China, but he's made zero commitments so far to deal with any of the current issues the world has with the PRC... (Hong Kong, Democracy and the rule of law, Covid 19, lies around Covid 19, the ongoing treatment of minorities, slavery and forced labour, the aggression towards its immediate neighbours, treatment of Taiwan and other issues) To be clear, I'm no Trump fan (he not only did nothing but lied and said he would/was taking action). I'm just saying I think presidents don't have much power over this (it's mainly economic policy) and Biden hasn't given any indication he will spend capital on this as far as I know... Edit: now I don't know why I've been downvoted either! C'est la Vie.