[American Vet Repairman]

You made a great point about the repeating cycle.

The situation is that the Chinese have embraced some capitalism but not the free market. Thus they leave a lot of people out in the cold. The best way to manage a society is to keep the bellies full, put mind numbing crap on the television, and give people enough bills to pay to keep them busy.

When a person has nothing to lose and you have everything they can gain-then there is a potential problem. This China situation will lead to civil war or empire expansion. My guess is the second. If I was a ChiCom manager here would be my agenda.

1. Target Taiwan.
2. Seize nearby oil fields as territorial expansion.
3. Build a sub fleet.
4. Establish economic expansion colonies in Africa.

[SunkenCiv]

You're onto something -- the Chinese have done all four of those. They haven't invaded Taiwan, but it's clear they intend to; they've seized a disputed archipelago (claimed by Vietnam and the Philipines, at least) which has oil under it; they are building a sub fleet; and they've been expanding their presence in Africa (Sudan in particular) after abortive attempts in the 1970s.