"The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain." -Thomas Jefferson
I got in a debate today with a friend about China and its economic ascendancy. Like most people in this country my compatriot was concerned with the prospect of a trade war with China and thought that the mighty US economy was doomed to disaster. I didn't agree with that outlook and this is why: Since 1784 when the first ship traversed the waters between the two countries our fates have been intertwined. After the Opium Wars the Chinese Emperors ability to resist foreign penetration of China's economy was broken. The result of this was half a century of the Imperial powers of the age extracting as much wealth as possible from the gigantic Chinese economy. This led to the uprising of the Society of Right and Harmonious Fists in 1899. It was bloody and brutal, but the Imperial parties eventually prevailed putting down the rebellion. Around this same time the United States, who didn't have a sphere of influence in China to profit from, sent letters to the other Imperialists demanding an 'Open Door' policy in regards to China. Although they were reluctant to do so, this was largely respected and the ports were opened to American shipping. This all came to an end when the Empire of Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and then attempted to conquer the the whole country in 1937. What followed was one of the most ruthless military campaigns in history, and only with US assistance and eventual entrance into the war prevented an all out Japanese conquest of mainland China. The honeymoon was short lived however when the Nationalists and Communists immediately engaged in a Civil War after Japan was defeated. America sided with our allies from the war, the Kuomintang, which was soundly defeated by 1949, only holding out in the island of Taiwan. The next year as MacArthur approached the Yalu river during the Korean War the Peoples Republic of China ordered in many divisions, sending the UN force reeling. This almost led to the use of nuclear weapons against China, but they didn't send the bulk of their forces into the field, and the US didn't obliterate the PRC. It was during this time that the US gave its unconditional support to Taiwan, which had become the Nationalists final territory. During the Vietnam War an estimated 320,000 Chinese soldiers fought on the side of the North, with large amounts of material assistance provided as well. Sino-American relations underwent a radical change when the PRC and USSR had border skirmishes in 1969, which resulted in China's almost complete isolation. Enter Nixon and his rapprochement, culminating in the 1972 state visit. After this trade restrictions were removed and things went rather well until the Tienanmen Square incident led to a severe decline in investment and trade. Continuing tensions in the Taiwan Straight didn't help the situation, with the US occasionally flexing its military presence in the region in answer to Chinese military exercises. This all changed with the entrance of China into the WTO, with US sponsorship in 2001. Since then China's economy has been on an upward trajectory of unparalleled proportions. Since then the PRC leadership has been proving years of social theory wrong in that traditionally when a country develops economically and a middle class emerges, this leads to great political freedoms and usually something resembling democracy. Although the rumors that escape tell of secret black jails, hundreds of riots every year, and all manner of human rights abuses. The reason I bring all this up is to emphasis my point, which is that China and the United States are partners in crime. We clearly have never been afraid of fighting each other, but when the opportunity presents itself, as it did after the Boxer Rebellion, during WWII or during the Cold War, we are more satisfied working together for our shared goals. In the current dynamic in which the two countries engage China accepts US dollars and buys treasury bonds for the myriad of goods it produces for export to the US, and in return the US tolerates the Communist Leaderships strangle hold on power, systemic abuses of human rights, and its continued disobedience of virtually every international trade law on the books. Sure there is political grandstanding were the US pretends to be upset at the effect this relationship is having on average Americans and the Chinese act as though the West is undermining their social structure, but at the end of the day we are thick as thieves. Our relationship is one of mutual benefit bordering on symbiotic dependency. The Chinese need jobs and money to keep their people from rising up against the most authoritarian government on earth and the US needs lots of consumer goods to keep its population preoccupied and satisfied. "Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad." -Chinese Proverb
