A Dangerous Stereotype of China

02/28/2006

by Paul Munnis

America is allowing a dangerous media stereotype to be formed. It is a stereotype of China as the enemy of America.

The history of American Chinese relations is largely a positive one with the exception of the invasion by China into South Korea in opposition to UN forces, of which America made up the bulk of the UN military force. If one looks at our relationship after WWII it was very positive. We even had many missionaries in China developing a Christian community. Communism changed that but the old style of Communism is now pretty well dead and is being replaced with an attempt to form a nation in a third-way.

Korea was bad news. Just ask me. But if we could get over it then we might be able to see that some things are inevitable.

China has a huge population base. They are committed industrialize. It will negate all but strategic and custom manufacturing in North America. They will need energy and will compete to get it. They are going to dominate world trade and they are going to build up their military.

America is on a two track immediate future. The first is a shrunken demographic base of over age 21 youth. We will have fewer workers and they will be very high productivity workers and hence well paid. The second track is that America is on a vector of Science discovery and invention that is simply astounding.

That creates a circumstance for both China and America that is a natural partnership. 

Politically China is seeking a third way, one that is not entirely Capitalist and one not entirely Socialist. China thought that America had that third way and they were looking to emulate us until the present Administration came along and discouraged that idea by illustrating all of our institutional weaknesses in government.

But why China should be seen as America’s enemy or even as our opponent we cannot fathom.

It is in our enlightened self-interest to make friends with China, to be in support of China and to help China seek this third way. A partnership in peace makes more sense to me than a contention system of war.

Of course we know the industrial military complex needs a boogey man, an enemy, a nation that threatens us. Without that the arms industry dies and many American jobs go down in the process. Still, we need to invent another paradigm and we are seeing the weaknesses inherent in this post-cold-war militarism anyhow and so the invention of a new paradigm will happen and will likely pace American force redesign.

This does not mean that we should give away the grocery store to China. They will have more respect for a tough as nails and a broach no-nonsense America then they will of a weakling nation.

Indeed by standing firm for key principles of freedom and democracy we can earn China’s respect and admiration. But that requires an American government based upon firm morals and ethics manifested by sound national and foreign policy.

It just makes no sense to train generations of Americans to a stereotype that portrays China as our enemy or even as our being in contention for anything except oil, something we are all in contention over.

Both of us need energy independence and an alliance between the USA and China to achieve energy independence would be a better relationship than one of mutual distrust and hostility.

It would be a good beginning for our new foreign policy, the one that must soon replace the Bush Administration’s failed attempts at the politics of first-strike.

Besides, it’s fun to make new friends.