So is “peaceful country”. The ongoing existence of every country is predicated on its ability to wage war (or make friends with countries that wage war). Nearly all of the borders on the globe were defined by war. But that doesn’t mean countries or empires can’t have differing views towards peace and aggression.
In regards to China, I said it was less peaceful, which seems obviously true to me. China has ongoing territorial disputes with ever country close to it, which extends to raising man-made islands out of the sea to push back the sea borders of its neighbors. It believes it outright owns two neighboring countries, occupying one of them, and constantly threatening to conquer the other. A large amount of its northern region used to be Mongolia until the government one day sent millions of Chinese people to live there, and just redrew its maps. As a country it was also founded upon a revolution that included arguably the most brutal mass slaying of civilians in history.
The US fights more wars, but China is far more belligerent imo, and engages in outright territorial conquest every opportunity it gets.
China has 5000 years of ascending to superpower status, not all of it very peaceful. If you mean China hasn't invaded another country since 1979, well, sure, I'll give you that.
China was kind of domineering, but on a global historic scale they could be considered somewhat non-violent. They even got invaded twice while being the top economic power of their time. There are quite a few aspects I don't like about China, but warmongers, they are not.
If anything, the modern era should be a boon to them, since developed countries are virtually conquerable at a certain scale, via modern technology instantly turning that industrial base into a top tier military, if needed, and via the usually strong alliances provided by strong trade relations.
I actually believe China can be a peaceful #1, provided they can be stopped from bullying their neighbors and Africa when the latest political scandal demands a distraction (à la Clinton - Kosovo).
I’m not so sure that China is “pacifist and prosperous” compared to the US. What I am sure of is that you just have not heard of many cases where they haven’t been, because it’s China.
I said China's rise is the most peaceful among all super powers in history, I did not say that China's rise will be that it is nice to neighbors.
I also did not count any timing. I just said it's the most peaceful.
Realistically, a super power by definition means it wields more power than others, that definitely means unfriendly behavior to others, especially the neighbors. That's why China uses the word "the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation", that's both a correct and accurate slogan, and a non-aggressive way of rosy filtering what gonna happen.
Ah yes - peace in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Serbia, Rwanda... Much peace, such prosperity.
I wouldn't choose China over the US any day of the week, but over the last 3 decades they've objectively been more pacifist and prosperous than most US client states. Please tone down the jingo.
Well if peace is your only goal then sure we can allow China to take over Taiwan plus the rest of the first island chain, and dominate the entire Asia-Pacific region. Is that what you would prefer? Fortunately the adults in the room have realized that appeasing expansionist dictators like Xi Jinping never ends well.
The social conventions of being kind and polite hardly apply to existential conflicts between superpowers. To pretend otherwise is dangerously naive. I would be quite happy if every single member of the Chinese Communist Party was thrown in a cell and left to die. Call that amoral if you like, but it would make the world a better place.
I am referring to the well known and well regarded Chinese policy of non-interference and non-intervention, and the Chinese leadership of UN Peacekeeping missions, as well as their lack of having been in a war with any external country for a very long time (and then their being the defenders in those wars).
OK, I'm fed up. China is really dangerous and way too aggressive. Obviously, its political system is on an imperialist ego-superpower course.
It's spending on its military like crazy. The navy strives to reach a size and power never seen since the demobilisations after the Second World War. Its navy patrols aggressively in foreign waters, often provoking fights and shooting up foreign boats even though China didn't declare war. It's only a matter of time till the aggressive behaviour hits some wrong ships, boats - or maybe an airliner mistaken for a fighter.
Plenty invasions of sovereign countries in the last 35 years alone prove it's unfit for lasting peace, an imperialist hyper-aggressive power. This aggressiveness is underpinned by intense propaganda and myth-building at home, with entire service industries inflaming the population against countries they cannot even point at on a map. Racism plays into this as well, with lots of derogatory names for foreigners of exotic looks.
China's gunboat and cruise missile diplomacy with occasional and nowadays frequent bombing of neutral countries is out of control, but a United Nations Security Council veto power protects them against formal repercussions. They even bombed an American embassy 15 years ago and nothing happened!
I'm especially concerned about how they now discuss how to wage a future war against the United States. All the public discussions are solely about how to defeat American land-based defences so Chinese naval battlegroups can close with the American coasts and bomb military and strategic targets at will. Unmanned combat drones are an especially favoured tool for this; many Chinese appear to have high hopes for these. The range and stealthiness is apparently at the centre of their hopes.
We shouldn't stand by this and pretend we aren't involved.
China's aggressiveness needs to be contained now!
China is still the single greatest threat to world peace, from Tiananmen Square to ethnic cleansing, the government of China is a despotic regime of murderers. Anything the west can do to combat this, it’s a good thing, and shame on any American brand that puts profits over human rights.
China is an aggressively belligerent state that attacks its neighbors, takes over territory that does not belong to it, steals everything it can, and ruins anyone's life who gets in the way.
They've demonized themselves.
It's time to stop appeasement and say enough is enough.
You forgot that last part. China's trade dealings are outright hostile. China's overlooking slave-wages, and suicides tied to working conditions or lack thereof.
China must be considered /by all/ to be an enemy of the rest of the globe.
This is not saying that the Chinese populace are enemies, but the Chinese Government, which controls the populace, is most definitely so.
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