[borghead]

Unfortunatly, I agree with you. The problem is that China has the innate potential to become the dominant power on earth. Now whether China is totalitarian or democratic, it doesn't really matter because they will still reach for superpower status. And obviously the U.S will not willingly give up its global influence, thus conflict is inevitable. The problem is that since China has around the same territory, but a much larger population(thus a much larger potential market), they may well become much more powerful militarily and economically than the americans. So I'm not sure that the U.S will succeed even if they tried to crush China, the U.S may very well end up the loser.

[Fee]

China by its geography will never reach super power status because unlike the US she has two competing superpowers on her border - India and Russia. China may complain about Western imperialism/colonialism, but these foreign powers occupied only a small fraction of her territories and the occupation did not last more than 100 years. A land mass power on the other hand is a different matter. China was conquered and defeated by the Mongolians, Kaitai (early Manchurians) and Manchurians, and severely raided by the Huns and other Central Asian nomadic groups - all are landmass powers. If China becomes a powerful and destabilizing power, she would threaten India and Russia as well as the US. The three powers can combine at any time to neutralize her. The US has to be awfully stupid to piss off Russia, India and China simultaneously. I don't think our leaders are that dumb (GOP or Democrat).

[HELLRAISER II]

You bring up some valid points especially their population numbers compared to ours. That is why it is so damn traitorous what that scumbag Slick Willie allowed the Chinese to have. He had the opinion that all countries should share the responsibility of Nuclear power, what he failed to understand was that these people will not be responsible with their new found power. They will hold it over us like an executioners axe, if they ever attack us we will have no choice but to annihalate their @ss instantly.