MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
China superpower? It relies on imports for energy, iron and...water (for food)
Among the mountain of statistics produced by China every year, there is one impossible to ignore: according to the Ministry of Land and Resources 61.5% of China's ground water is too dangerous even to touch, which means that along with being unsuitable for agriculture or drinking this water is unfit for any human contact. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesChina will never turn into a developed nation. They will revert to what they were soon enough just like every State controlled economy.
May 08th, 2015 - 11:15 am - Link - Report abuse 0They will import more food and fuel until they run out of money.
Then they'll let their people starve.
Watch and see.
@1. How long before China needs its money back from failing latam?
May 08th, 2015 - 12:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So China needs food, energy and iron.
May 08th, 2015 - 12:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And Australia has food, energy and iron.
Woohoo so the A$55 billion in wealth that is transferred to Australia every year from China will only increase.
#1 & 2
May 08th, 2015 - 12:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0With all due respect.
China is facing enormous problems in the future with an un-sustainable population mix (age-sex ratio demographics), pollution, poorly planned undesirable mega-cities...
BUT
China will remain a military and economic superpower and will not fade away.
“Too big to fail” but it will stumble several times in the coming years...
China recently lent Venezuela $5 billion. I doubt they will ever see that again.
May 08th, 2015 - 01:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Venezuela is in such a desperate state that motorcyclists are being murdered for the spare parts in their bikes. (Reuters)
3
May 08th, 2015 - 01:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They like rice Skip....got any rice...?..;-)
6. They'll eat whatever the Gov't provides whether they like it or not.
May 08th, 2015 - 01:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 04. Depends on your definition of super power, maybe if they can keep the provinces together and their people fed. Maybe not. Time will tell.
My guess is they'll revert right back to type when their economy goes into the crapper and 3 generations of wealth goes up in smoke.
(7) What you predict may be come true: the cultural changes that will take place (with a lot of expressed discontent...) will decide. Food and water; health concerns and support, and a wish to gain more (everyone it seems in China wants a fridge; a car; spending money so on and on; but it can't happen - there aren't enough resources to go around- even with Trade globally) But that huge burgeoning military force needs continuing resources too, and maintenance.
May 08th, 2015 - 04:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Without the suitably clean home produced resources and that massive threat of internal strife; the Force has to go forth to obtain...well, somewhere...
We can't blame anyone for wanting the standards of life that some of us in the West have; but getting there takes many forms. Let's hope we can all cooperate without causes for suspicion; and the usual, varied and ostensibly moral forms of corruption leading to war.
What China seeks is “clean” land and Water. That means global settlement and workers.
8
May 08th, 2015 - 04:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 01.2b in population, with a “huge burgeoning military force” becoming “discontent” with clean resources and food in neighbouring states, I can see pressure to expand their influence beyond their own borders.
55m in an Australia, with well-managed and 'clean' resources, for a start.
I hope it isn't so.
China won't go down the pan for many reasons, the main one being that the US economy and China's are almost irreversible linked, the US will not allow China to fail, but they will stumble for many years to come.
May 08th, 2015 - 05:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0There’s no doubt that enormous gains have been made by capitalism in China; the Chinese and American economies are remarkably interdependent. When a veteran of the labour movement in the States wondered what had happened to the American working class the answer was plain: the American working class is in China now. But it’s also the case that China isn’t even remotely close to replacing the US. All the figures now produced by economists show that, where it counts, the Chinese are still way behind. If you look at national shares of world millionaire households in 2012: the United States, 42.5 per cent; Japan, 10.6 per cent; China, 9.4 per cent; Britain, 3.7 per cent; Switzerland, 2.9 per cent; Germany, 2.7 per cent; Taiwan, 2.3 per cent; Italy, 2 per cent; France, 1.9 per cent. So in terms of economic strength the United States is still doing well. In many crucial markets – pharmaceuticals, aerospace, computer software, medical equipment – the US is dominant; the Chinese are nowhere. The figures in 2010 showed that three-quarters of China’s top two hundred exporting companies – and these are Chinese statistics – are foreign-owned. There is a great deal of foreign investment in China, often from neighbouring countries like Taiwan. Foxconn, which produces computers for Apple in China, is a Taiwanese company.
The notion that the Chinese are suddenly going to rise to power and replace the United States is baloney. It’s implausible militarily; it’s implausible economically
”They like rice Skip....got any rice...?..;-)”
May 08th, 2015 - 05:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Voice
While they indeed do, I suggest you investigate Northern Chinese cuisine a little more.
But we have been growing rice in Australia for 165 years. And we manage the highest yield per hectare in the world and use 50% less water than the global average. So yeah we have rice.
And considering we produce enough food for 60 million people and only have 23 million....... well we also have plenty of wheat, beef, lamb, pork!
And don't forget wine and dairy.
@Chicureo
World power not a superpower. Learn the difference.
@Troy
Australia isn't that easy to invade due to sheer distance. Russia's Far East will go long before that possibility. By then China's rapidly shrinking population will decimate its ability to project hard power too far from home.
China becoming a major pork importer would also echo across the entire agricultural sector, as it would likely drive up grain prices, the main feedstock used for fattening pigs. That in turn would likely push up prices for beef, chicken and eggs, a good outcome for farmers but a politically sensitive issue.
May 08th, 2015 - 07:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If so grain prices will actually decrease, because Chinese demand for soy and corn will go down as they will not be able to produce more pork in China. I think I may invest in breeding pigs. High price of pork and lower price of feed.
China wil remain a vast market for decades to come.
10. I don't think China and the USA are as intertwined as you think. They provided cheap labor and a market for our goods. We bought their cheap goods.
May 08th, 2015 - 07:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0All everyone here is talking about is bringing mfg back to the USA and Mexico with Vietnam and Malaysia picking up the stuff that's too expensive to mfg in China.
China could go away and the USA would be fine in a few years.
The opposite is not true.
They're going to go through very tough times with(10s of) millions of people losing their life savings in various bubbles.
Then watch out....
The top picture looks like sliced cucumber.
May 08th, 2015 - 07:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0energy, iron and...water (for food
now we know their weak spots, we know how to deal with them,
if they try any funny stuff ? do we not ???...
China can fall and the US will simply sneeze. Japan owns more Dollar denominated reserves than China, the US buys some 20% of all total Chinese exports, and China is an export oriented economy. The US exports some 8 to 9& of their total exports to China, but the US is NOT an export oriented economy, it can stop exporting to China and they will be fine. The US is also a country rich in water and natural resources, its rivers are clean, its forests are plentiful and its oceans aren´t disputed waters, its neighbors are not pointing missiles at them and they aren´t pointing missiles at their neighbors either, quite the opposite, they enjoy very highly socially, culturally and economically integrations with neighbors to the north and south. China has some big pollution problems in their cities, rivers, lakes and everywhere, and their population ages rapidly, within ten years they will have a huge demographic problem with hundreds of millions of workers seeking retirement. Finally, the US is a huge economy, with a huge market, the largest in the world and one that almost solely depends on internal consumption and economic activity, while China´s economy is huge too, but its economic dependence on the US, Europe and other large economies is just as huge, while its internal market much smaller.
May 09th, 2015 - 12:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0Foreseeable shortages of such vital resources does go a long way to explain China’s more muscular foreign policy, and increases in military spending.
May 09th, 2015 - 01:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Worth remembering over half of China’s “defence budget” is spent on internal security not military hardware or capabilities.
A situation likely to continue, not least because of increased tensions with the minority populations inside China.
However increased tensions can also be expected externally, as China will try and push its territorial claims across half the western Pacific.
Which will lead to increased resistance from affected countries in the region, not least the re-militarisation of Japan.
Watch this space.
No doubt this Argy Gov would support this colonisation by China of its neighbour’s territories, as probably the next one will, for ideological reasons as well as the importance of commodities exports to China, for Argentina.
Hence the S. Atlantic has to be defended.
Japan, Philippines, S Korea, Australia are all a bit anxious. I think the USA will let Japan rearm and get Nukes after the next US Prez takes over.
May 09th, 2015 - 02:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And the Philippines are begging us to reopen our bases.
Go figure
:)
Britain may well yet come back on to the scene.
May 10th, 2015 - 06:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Well they just did another rate cut.
May 10th, 2015 - 07:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They're not going to make it out of this downturn
Watch and see.
well yankeeboy
May 11th, 2015 - 06:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0you may well be right,
read the following,
for we need to get a lot lot better to over turn this opinion.
....................
Even some Americans have lost confidence in our ability two field carriers.
///////////////////
If the Brits are sour on the F-35 then what about their carrier?
http://snafu-solomon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/if-brits-are-sour-on-f-35-then-what.html#disqus_thread
They're going to say that as the world's most capable helicopter carrier, it will==
And finally they're gonna chest thump and brag and state that by making this change they're increasing interoperability with the US Navy==
It'll all be bullshit but that's how the Brits will turn shit into sugar....or at least fool their population into believing it=
Read the rest,
perhaps one of you lot can access the 9 replies as I cant seem to…
that's what impression is all abt..
thanks
@yankeeboy
May 12th, 2015 - 07:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0haters gonna hate, we had watched and saw Gordon Chang and his prediction fallen to the butt of every doomsayer jokes, a small-time wiseacre like you just couldn't bash hard enough for it.
21. You think my posts are “bashing”? Don't worry I am under no allusion that my posts have any effect on the Chinese economy.
May 12th, 2015 - 09:43 am - Link - Report abuse 0Bahahahaha
retard.
@yankeeboy
May 13th, 2015 - 08:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0no need to get smart@ss on me, because we all know a rude lowbrowed like you just can't think straight and probably will end up being nothing at all, totally harmless. And yes, i'm under no delusion neither, that you are a decent murica redneck, some underclass south asian immigrants has issues with China at best, yankee, nah.
goodluck with food stamps and no-life.
regards，贱豚 ^_^
Nurse!
May 13th, 2015 - 11:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0@ilsen
May 13th, 2015 - 02:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Don't overreact. I'd like to reason with a civilized man, but some folks just like to start flame.
as for your concern about China's investment in Venezuela, yes, it arose worries and debates in China too (yes we're not mindless slaves that will swallow anything big brother feeds us). However, my two cents is, all investment comes with some form of risk, so there's risk hedging, low oil price caused export & economy recession might lead to a potential debt default, hard cheese. but in the other hand it'll significantly cut down cost of oil imports and benefits thirsty major resource importer, like this screaming headlines pointed out, China. As a interesting piece in WSJ revealed: “The windfall comes on top of China’s steady trade surpluses and nearly $4 trillion in reserves, and makes it more affordable for Beijing to prop up beleaguered oil-producing partners like Russia and Venezuela.”
www.wsj.com/articles/a-windfall-for-china-as-commodity-prices-plunge-1426216191
In this case, if we could never see that 5 billion again, I guess it'll have to take all our strength to accept the loss, perhaps wisdom as well, to come to a trade-off or something. After all, you can't win'em all.
Great to have you here. Cheers for the info.
May 14th, 2015 - 05:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0I have many questions I wish I could ask you, but this is not the place.
Stick around.
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