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Sinomania!
"It is the unity of a troop, not its numerical strength, that ensures victory over the enemy." -- Chinese Maxim

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! (Feb 4)

2011 Year of the (metal) Rabbit! I hope it is a great one for all of you. I know I am looking forward and anticipate some real positive change...

Media Coverage of Egypt Riots Uses 'Tam '89 Style Book (Feb 4)

Anglo-American media interpret the mobs that shut down Cairo and other cities of Egypt as "pro-democracy protesters" that riot for "freedom" leading Americans to believe that the most important thing to a poor Egyptian is whether he/she can Twitter without obstruction. The coverage of the riots in Egypt is shockingly sloppy - celebrity journos are all on the scene and as in the late stages of the Tiananmen riots in 1989 they report mostly from the top floor suites of luxury hotels overlooking and speculating on events on the ground. At what point will any real reporting be done about the true underlying causes of the frustration in Egypt? The grinding poverty that gives Egypt a per capita income about one half that of China and without the sizeable affluent class structure. And more importantly the population explosion underway in the country. Egypt's population is set to grow 94% and peak at 136 million by 2075 according to UN statistics making Egypt one of the 15 most populated na...

Obama's Sputnik Moment Means Cold War with China (Feb 4)

It was extremely disappointing to hear President Obama talk only of competition with China in his 2011 State of the Union address to the American Congress. Chinese children learn science and math at an earlier age, Chinese trains are faster, and China's airports are newer we are told. It seems Obama's "Sputnik Moment" for the current generation is that we must compete with China. This is thinly veiled indication that we are in a new Cold War with China where we will compete for technology, resources (oil in particular), and the minds of our youth. And what an awkward Cold War it is - Beijing buys Washington's debts, essentially paying for its own containment. And unlike the previous Cold War there are no centers devoted to researching, studying, and understanding the Chinese. Worse Washington and the American people wallow in utter ignorance of what really makes up the vast nation we call China and its complex government. Congress calls Chinese President Hu a "dictator" while oblivi...

US-China Summit: China Policy in Disarray (Jan 19)

WASHINGTON, DC -- On the 20th anniversary of the fist Gulf War crisis Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived today for a state visit. Chinese flags fluttered across the cold American capital as the usual China gatekeepers pontificated in print and airwaves about the need for China to be "responsible" and the importance of the stale policy concerns of Washington toward Beijing.

America's China policy is bereft of innovation and woefully outdated. Now defined by both State and Treasury Departments neither Tim Geithner nor Hillary Clinton offer anything new. Geithner continues to stress currency an issue where he knows the USA has no high ground (the USA is as much a currency "manipulator" as China or Japan or the EU) and Geithner knows full well the USA will never get China to budge on Yuan appreciation. As for State Hillary Clinton trotted out human rights concerns that sounded like leftovers from her time at the UN Conference on Women in Beijing. China's human rights record hinders inve...

Guess What? China Didn't Collapse! (Dec 28)

I am back from China and have much to say but first the holidays! 2011 will bring many changes to the Sinomania! website.

This past Spring the China doomsayers called for a collapse by end of the year. Well it didn't happen and most likely won't happen for a very long time. Yet mainstream media continues to broadcast and print coming collapse of China pablum. Fortune magazine just featured Jim Chanos on its cover. I believe we may well be in an age of Chinese exceptionalism much as America created its own trends throughout the 20th Century with global implications. Must we fear this new environment?

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip and the warm hospitality of the Chinese people. If more Americans actually went to China our perceptions would change immediately. The ghosts of two Chinese giants from the past century (both born in the 19th Century) - Mao Zedong and Henry Luce -continue to haunt our thoughts of China. Yet their world is long gone for better and for worse.

A new China policy is...

Is the Mekong River Shrinking? (Oct 12)

The New York Times says the Mekong is shrinking and China may be hoarding its flow but from where I sat for lunch today along the river at the Laotian border it is very high and rising....

Sinomania! On Assignment (Oct 12)

Exploring Chinese influence in southeast Asia before making my way through China until I reach Chongqing. I will be posting as I can....

Chinese Household Wealth May Double in 5 Years (Oct 8)

A new report by Credit Suisse says Chinese personal wealth my increase to $35 trillion by 2015 second only to the USA. The huge number of Chinese with increasing discretionary incomes will reshape the global economy according to the private bank. Sectors expected to see significant growth in China include transportation & communications, recreation & education, housing & utilities, and healthcare....

US China Policy Should Be Campaign Issue (Oct 6)

Christine O'Donnell the much maligned Republican nominee for Deleware's open US Senate seat says China has a secret plan to take over America. O'Donnell made the claim in a 2006 debate for the nomination. The transcript of her remarks obtained by The Washington Post contain several lies about China that have currency in anti-China circles: China is "taking American oil" by drilling off the coast of Florida; in China you are "not allowed to be Christian" or read the Bible. But the flap over her remarks do point out the necessity to bring US policy on China and Americans ignorance about China and Chinese people into national focus.

China policy should - must - be a national campaign issue in the next election cycle in 2012. See my new group Americans for a New China Policy....

China Saves Greece (Oct 4)

Chinese PM Wen Jiabao is touring the EU on feel good missions to assure China's support for the region's economies and currency. Wen will attend an East-West Summit in Brussels and meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Over the weekend in Greece Wen announced that Beijing would buy Greece's debt in a confidence bid on Greek turnaround. One commentator sees opportunity with recent Greek programs to push solar power. As regular readers know China is developing container terminals and greatly expanding the port at Piraeus in a larger shipping and logistics strategy. You can read my 2008 report on it here....