FORMIDABLE LIKE ATLANTIS:

US vs. China: a dangerous phase has begun: China is a formidable adversary whose ultimate strength is not its military hardware but its economic prowess, and whose diplomatic weapon is not saber rattling but great patience. (Martin Jacques, February 16, 2010, CS Monitor)

The fact that the US has only just begun to wake up to the fact that it is in decline is a cause for serious concern. It is completely unprepared for what this might mean: that it can no longer deal with others in the way that it has, that it can no longer assume a relationship of superiority in its dealings with China, and that it has to seek a new understanding of China rather than expect the latter to continue to play second fiddle. [...]

China must not be confused in the American mind with a Soviet Union Mark 2. It is a very different and far more formidable adversary whose ultimate strength is not its military hardware but its economic prowess, and whose diplomatic weapon is not saber rattling but great patience.

America has a TFR of 2.05 and a GDP per capita of $46,600.

China has a GDP per capita of $6,500 and a TFR of 1.79.

It can ill afford patience.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 16, 2010 12:40 PM