No doubt China’s tentacles are in deep all around the world. If their march to world hegemony continued, it would likely succeed eventually.
It’s now been slowed, stalled, or stopped. They’ve been shamed by many, and
resources won’t sustain. Will they be financially able to build a military, finance all the troubled countries with Belt & Road, and keep unrest at home to a manageable level.
What’s our collective guess re: China’s tact going forward ?
China still has a massive industrial plant and the second largest economy in the world. They can try to replace or supplant the US market by flooding the world with cheap goods and using monopolistic tactics to kill off competitors. The US consumer will pay higher prices depending on how the supply chains sort themselves out.
The entire global economy is in recession. The Chinese are back at work while most of the world, including us, are struggling to restart our economies. Fortunately, the US economy is not as dependent upon exports as say a Germany, which is now in a recession. Still, our travel and hospitality industry is in tatters. How can we get the consumer to start spending again? Fauci and Birx aided and abetted by the MSM and the Dems have frightened the public to the point that many are afraid to step out of their houses.
Trump needs to start a huge PR campaign to convince the public that the virus is not the boogeyman we once thought it was. Only a small percentage of our people are vulnerable in terms of it being fatal. Getting infected is not a death sentence. Our healthcare system was not overwhelmed. Therapeutics and a vaccine will go a long way to ease fears.
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In the long run, China is going to morph into a real enemy, militarily and otherwise. Will our allies share that perception like they did the Soviet Union? The jury is still out. Certainly how the Chinese handled the virus should convince them that China is a bad actor and should suffer consequences for their actions.
I can see the Dems being supportive of China as they were apologists for the Soviets during the Cold War. Biden will blame Trump for the deterioration of our relations with China. As the virus fades, there will be calls for a reset in our relations with China. Hollywood, the NBA, the Chamber of Commerce, etc. will push back on any restrictions against China. It will be the globalists against the economic nationalists.