The last car I rented in Mexico was a Changan sold by Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Chongqing, China. It is a great car with everything you would want in a modern SUV.
At the time, it occurred to me that what China offers in this car is the kind of competition most American consumers would relish. Consumerism in our country is what drives our economy. This also reminds me of a hippie saying during the Vietnam War: “make love, not war.” In this case the motto may be “let’s compete, not fight.”
There was a time that I thought that one of the major characteristics of an alliance between Russian and China was provided by a combination of Russian military power and China’s world class economy. The Ukraine War has disabused me of that and made me rethink the ability to make war by our adversaries. While I do not discount Russia’s capacity to make serious trouble, our main attention should be on China. The long range direction of Chinese economic strength should be central to our geopolitical focus.
The advantage of that strategy is that the development of China in this sphere is also in the playground of capitalism that is the economic partner of democracy. This allows China to be more like us in the end.
Although China is restating its mandate to be a Communist nation, its economic tendencies and interests are slowly dragging the country toward a destiny more like that of the United States.
Although it is building its military might at a rapid pace, one should understand that it is also facing combined militaries off shore.
President Biden is scheduled to meet with the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada next January. I am sure that they will, in part, talk about North American trade issues.
When we compare the combined populations of the three countries in North America to that of China, we are one third of theirs. At the same time, China has a national economy in development because currently only one third of its population has the ability to take part as serious consumers.
Although China may want to talk about being a military superpower or reach out to countries around the world for purposes of political or economic influence, its main attention may very well be on engaging the other two thirds of its population as consumers. That is the way China will become the economic superpower ahead of the United States.
When the United States entered the Cold War with the Soviet Union, there was a real fear that the Soviets had the military capability to overwhelm Europe with a quick armor strike or have a nuclear exchange with America. In addition, the Soviet Union had much less to lose than the United States. Here, the situation is different. China’s power comes from the potential of its growing economic base.
Just like the United States and the world’s advanced economies, China has a lot to lose and that will increase as it reaches its economic zenith. At the same time, China is participating as part of the commercial market community which is key to capitalism and American business interests.
China’s industrial power is real as it is poised to become the number one economy in the globe. That should be celebrated because it makes the world richer and able to sustain itself.
More importantly, it is market competition. It is done during peace, not war.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
