Clinton: China or Europe Will Replace U.S. as Top Power

NewsMax.com ^ | 5/02/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

Ex-president Bill Clinton predicted this week that either Communist China, which helped bankroll his 1996 reelection campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions, or the European Union, would replace the United States as the world's number one power within the next 30 years.

"In all probability, we won't be the premier political and economic power we are now," Clinton told the Washington Post in an interview from Mexico on Thursday. Saying the shift would occur within "a few decades," the ex-president cited the growth of China's economy and Europe's already formidable economy as factors that would doom continued U.S. supremacy.

Clinton said the question of whether China or Europe would replace the United States depended on how their respective governments invested in military might. While Europe's defense investment has been minimal since World War II, China now has the fastest growing military budget in the world.

In 1996, the Clinton administration approved the transfer to Beijing of key missile guidance technology which enabled China to hit most major U.S. cities with its intercontinental ballistic missile fleet.

Clinton offered his prediction to the Post in an attempt to clarify comments he made to an Australian audience in February, where he warned "This is a unique moment in U.S. history, a brief moment in history, when the U.S. has preeminent military, economic and political power. It won't last forever. This is just a period, a few decades this will last."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

China/Taiwan
Clinton Scandals

[breakem]

I believe it will be China's century unless they mismanage their economy.

[JudgeAmint]

Klintoon is a MORON...ugh.

[kylaka]

Of course high taxation has nothing to do with limiting growth.

[My2Cents]

Clinton did his best to turn the USA into a 2nd-rate power.

If Bill Clinton were a super-hero, his name would be "The Stain."

[breakem]

I don't think he's a moron. He is a crook and an agent of the Chinese. But in terms of this article, the Chinese have all the growth potential in the world and only themselves to blame if it doesn't materialize.

[surely_you_jest]

Well, Clintoon certainly did his part to make sure that this happens.

[Poohbah]

I believe it will be China's century unless they mismanage their economy.

Ready for the good news? China is like Enron with sovereignty and a few nuclear weapons.

[Dead Dog]

You know you are dealing with a pure socialist when they consider one's gain another's loss. A strong EU and China only mean better trading partners and a stronger US. They can't beat us without becoming us.

[MizSterious]

Moron doesn't begin to cover it all, either. Give him a nice cup of shut the heck up...

(Or, that nice new flavor, shut the heck up and go away...)

[Alouette]

Ex-president Bill Clinton

Who the hell cares what that obsolete, irrelevant moron says? He is wrong as he has always been.

[n1f2ns]

Clinton is right. If our nation continues to erode lose its morals and values and the bleeding heart liberals take political control then we will lose our international standing to China or the EU.

[BARLF]

Sounds as if Bill is counting on Hillary becoming president.

[Uncle George]

The one with the bent penis is a Communist, thinks like a Commie and acts like a Commie. and would love this Country to become a third world Bananna republic.

[Pearls Before Swine]

China, maybe. EU....no.

[hsmomx3]

If his wife becomes president, she will all but eliminate our armed forces. Can you imagine her as commander in chief?

[MadIvan]

Clinton has no idea what he is talking about. If demographics are destiny, the EU is in serious trouble - the birth rate is far less than the death rate. America doesn't have that problem.

As for China, the SARS incident has shown up the tremendous weaknesses in how it is governed. Making money there is rather like trying to pan for gold in the Klondike - it's risky, corrupt, and wild. Unless China moves to a more enlightened system of government, there is no chance they will be able to compete with America's stable laws and trading systems.

Regards, Ivan

[breakem]

No doubt, but what about China's potential? Even a broken clock (notice the "l") is right twice a day.

[IncPen]

I don't see how China can prevail; it's rotting from the inside. It makes the old Soviet Union look positively futuristic

The EU, it seems to me, is made up of 100 warring cousins. Who in industrial Germany will countenance the lazy and spiteful French? The aims of all of Europe seem to me to be completely at odds, to the point that the EU is doomed.

[demlosers]

...when the U.S. has preeminent military, economic and political power. It won't last forever. This is just a period, a few decades this will last."

IMHO, The U.S. has been the pre-eminate power for over 100 years. Even when the U.S. and the rest of the world didn't know it.