Comments by "" (@craigkdillon) on "China Observer" channel.

  1. Isn't Mercantilism wonderful?? China has gone back to the Qing dynasty's trade policies. China wants to export but not import.
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  2. Even if China owned Taiwan, the Taiwan Strait is too wide for them to have sovereign control over it. International waters start after 12 miles. At its narrowest, the international waters would be about 50 miles wide.
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  3.  @butwhytharum  Disagree. Very different. 1. Local governments get money by supporting speculation -- not in finished, occupied homes. 2. Developers get paid up-front, so little need to actually finish homes, and zero need to build quality. 3. As the "market" crashes, governments lose their source of revenue. In the west, local governments are funded with real estate taxes on owners of homes. They do not participate in the building and selling of them. So, a real estate crash in the west has zero effect on local government financing.
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  4. Now that US and EU have raised tariff walls against China, other nations will feel free to do that, too.
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  5. Don't military experts expect Taiwan to use the latest chips in their missiles and radars?? After all, those chips are made in Taiwan, and are available to them. Doesn't Taiwan have the engineers to design advanced missile avionics? I think they do. If so, then China's naval and air assets are just as vulnerable to Taiwan's military as they are to America's.
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  6. India still has control of the spigot. India could block oil from Iran at any time. India controls the Strait of Malacca. I don't see how this agreement changes anything.
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  7. What could go wrong??? Everything. Who will be the innovators? Who will be the visionaries? The CCP is re-creating the super centralized type of government that Imperial China had. That kind of government was viable, IMO, when societies and economies were static, with little change. Today's economies are highly dynamic. New patents, processes, and products force economies to be flexible to adapt. Nations and economies that adapt fastest benefit the most. The CCP is ossifying China's economy, unable to change or adapt. China will become impoverished and miserable. Far from a utopia.
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  8. To me, the most logical way for China to secure its borders would be to act friendly and peaceful towards its neighbors. China's bellicose threatening acts and words has resulted in its neighbors spending a lot more on their militaries. Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India have ALL increased purchases of planes, ships, missiles, and tanks. China's RELATIVE military power has decreased as a result.
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  9. This is not a temporary or cyclical business slowdown. Manufacturing is moving out --- PERMANENTLY.
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  10. I remember when mfg moved from the Midwest to China. You did not notice any change at first. After a few years you did. After 15 years, it was done. In China, it is happening a lot faster.
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  11. China's exports have declined. As more countries enact tariff walls, China's exports will plummet.
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  12.  @friendsofdickjones6266 Very true. The 100 years the US has in its organizational memory goes very deep. Not just doctrine, but also all the other areas for running carrier operations. Feeding, medical care, morale, all the little things that add to effectiveness. China would need a generation and a war to learn all that.
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  13.  @Gr3nadgr3gory  In US you cannot just build crap. You are inspected all the time. If you build something unsound, and people get hurt, you will be held criminally liable, and will go to jail. That does not seem to happen in China. What is happening in China is unique, IMO. It goes way beyond mere "poor" contractors.
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  14. It is much worse than that. Real estate speculation is how provincial and local governments finance themselves. Imagine what would happen if most of the towns, cities, and states in the US went bankrupt. How big of a disaster would that be??? Well, isn't that what is happening to China??
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  15. Reconsidered. US in 4 more bases in PH.
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  16. How can buildings have foundation issues, when they don't have foundations???
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  17. CCP tries to be an oligarchy. But, oligarchies tend towards autocracy. That is what is happening now.
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  18.  @raydunn2582  Then China will be dismissed. China will not be given access to anything if it goes against the foreign policies and interests of the involved countries. China CANNOT enforce the BRI contracts.
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  19. Xi has done the impossible --- he has gotten both Democrats and Republicans AGREEING on something. Aid to Taiwan??? Full support by both. More bases in Philippines? Full support by both. AUKUS alliance? Full support by both parties. Tariffs on China?? Full support by both parties. Thanks Xi.
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  20.  @icosthop9998  I am always correct. Just ask my ex-wife.
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  21. agree. Tofu dreg construction is now the habit in China. Many workers won't know the right way.
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  22. Why do insult snakes by comparing them to Chinese??
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  23. Well, you better start spending more on your military. Taiwan spent 2.6% of its GDP on its military. Not enough if you want to defend yourself against the Chinese behemoth. Taiwan needs THOUSANDS of HF missiles. Taiwan needs THOUSANDS of Sky Bow missiles. Taiwan needs THOUSANDS of naval mines. Taiwan needs to mobilize -- the 210,000 planned is idiotic. Taiwan needs an active force of 300,000+, with 1,000,000 in reserve. ALL males should be required to have 1 YEAR of military service when they reach 18. Taiwan should follow South Korea's example of 18 months service for every man over 18. The best way for Taiwan to avoid war, and being conquered, is to be prepared. Be VERY prepared.
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  24.  @Paul-zf8ob  True. American engines will last 12000 hours. Some new ones will last 20000 hours. (I think that is right). BUT, China's engines last only 2000 to 3000 hours. So, China's harassment of Taiwan with its jets wears down China's planes a lot more than they do Taiwan's jets.
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  25.  @Darkstar-se6wc  A hair product made in Philippines by Chinese company had "made in Philippines - Province of China" on its label. Pissed off the Filipinos something terrible. LOL
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  26. IMO, this action will backfire. By attacking their own customers, companies that have come to Chine to produce and sell, it is harming these relationships. These companies are global and have more at stake than China. Will they pull production out of China? I think so. India is the youth market of the future. Not China.
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  27. I think China will split into at least 5 countries.
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  28.  pa_2600  OMG! You have hit upon China's dastardly plan.
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  29.  @carlpanzram2012  Actually, an argument can be made that there is no such thing as "Communism". 1. "Communism" bears no resemblance to what Marx wrote. 2. Russian "communism" is really an extension of Tsarism (read, Russia under the Old (and the New) Regime books) 3. China has the worst social welfare system of any country. Most developing countries do a better job. Education, health services, and unemployment unavailable for many. Internal migrants -- how does that work?? Communism, IMO, is merely rhetoric used to justify dictatorship.
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  30. 20 years ago US and the west saw China as a partner in trade and investment. Money went in, factories built, and products sold to the Chinese -- the world's largest market. As a partner, US and the west would forgive cheating, as long as it wasn't too much. Then, China got greedy. It didn't want outsiders to benefit from their market. It wanted their car market for their own. China forced outsiders out of owning and manufacturing -- so they left. So, US and the west erected tariff and legal barriers. Now China is being squeezed out of markets. China is collapsing, and no one cares. 20 years ago, countries would have sacrificed to save China. Not now.
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  31. When sea levels rise, Shanghai will be one of the first to go. It is at the same level as New Orleans in US, or Venice in Italy. When that happens, the heat won't matter to them.
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  32. Capabilities of American weapons, radars, jamming, and ECM systems are constantly changing. Development is ongoing and continuous.
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  33.  @jont2576  Huh?? North Korea and USSR have lousy militaries. Kleptocracies do not make good armies.
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  34. Tourism can only be a large net gain for a country when it is external tourism, with foreigners bringing foreign money into the country. France, Spain, and Italy are countries that benefit greatly from foreign tourism. China, on the other hand, has made itself unpopular around the world. People are now afraid to go to China because of new security laws, and the threat of arrest and prosecution. Plus, China is now seen as being unwelcoming to foreigners, treating them rudely and unkindly. Stories from recent visitors have not been good. China is very different from what it was during the Olympics.
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  35. With territorial claims and military threats, China has ringed itself with enemies. Does anyone think that is a good strategy???
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  36. Same thing could have been said for the American Great Lakes states in 1970. Then the exodus of manufacturing to Japan (at first) and later to China. China's domination may seem so large, that it cannot change. Wrong. It changed for us, here in the "rust belt" of the US. We once manufactured about 50% of everything manufactured in the world. That is gone. China is pushing companies to leave now. China's fall from its domination of manufacturing is going to faster than ours.
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  37. China has made it perfectly clear that it is an enemy of the world. The world is acting accordingly.
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  38. Complete state ownership and control of all businesses. Sounds wonderful. So efficient. So enlightened. A true utopia. What could go wrong???
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  39.  @SUPERPOWERCHINA_  Sarcasm?? Or a Chinese bot?? I cannot tell.
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  40.  @jont2576  NO. Taiwan need to go full Switzerland and Finland. Those are the two toughest countries. Both have universal conscription of their men. Swiss men are required to keep a rifle and ammunition. They have their tunnels and bridges mined. NO one can invade Switzerland. That is why Hitler left it alone.
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  41.  @jont2576  So? The US supplied Russia with trucks, jeeps, planes, and artillery. Plus Allies invaded Normandy and also fought. Don't forget Stalin killed over 20 million in his collectivization of the farms. And, then after the war, the USSR occupied and ruled Poland, Hungary, Czhechoslovakia, Rumania, and the Baltic States. They only received their freedom when the USSR fell.
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  42. A few years ago, I would have been filled with pity and grief for the suffering Chinese. However, with China threatening everyone with war -attacking Indian soldiers, sinking Vietnamese and Filipino ships, building up its military, and telling the soldiers "they must prepare for war", I have no pity for China. I feel relief. Maybe China will now need to focus on internal problems instead of on war. So, I am a little glad that these disasters are striking China. It might sound a bit sick, but it is how I feel now.
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  43. What grandchildren?? China outlawed having kids for so long, that Chinese don't anticipate children. Chinese have been taught to think that the CCP will provide everything. They don't have to think about family or a family's future. Boy, that sure doesn't sound like it will end well.
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  44. One cannot help but be impressed with how good Chinese soldiers look on parade. Yep, the American military better watch out. But, I think our marching bands are still formidable.
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  45.  @hengongchua6250  Chinese construction projects ONLY use Chinese workers. At least they do in Africa. I doubt Asian projects are done differently.
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  46.  @just-dl  Also, they do not have to act collectively. Each has the right and authority to deny the loans, and not pay a penny. Just look at all the IMF loans that have been denied by countries.
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  47.  @naruto6918  Sh*t happens. Especially in California. It is a local thing. Not nationwide. And, the homeless are mostly rich folk living in million dollar homes. Their insurance will see them through.
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  48.  @Gr3nadgr3gory  Yes that does happen. But, in the west, that is a crime, and will be prosecuted if caught. In China, it is systemic, and normalized. Big difference.
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  49. You are so right. If the corruption is consistent and predictable, that is OK. Even preferred sometimes. That is why bribes are called "grease". BUT - unpredictability drives us nuts.
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  50. China does not seem to know what it wants. It says "Two Child Policy" now. Yet, it forces a woman to abort. The policy may have changed at the top of the CCP, but down at the local level, the policies and attitudes of the old policy still rule.
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