We Have Always Been at War with East Asia - Fat Tail Daily

‘If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.’

George Orwell, 1984

More and more, the headline news tells us that competitors are circling. Cryptopolitan:

‘The BRICS [are] doubling down on [their] plan to use national currencies for global trade, sidelining the US dollar.

‘Over the past five years, BRICS [have] expanded [their] reach and influence. The group now has 11 members, with recent additions Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE. This expansion has strengthened the bloc’s economic power.

‘The IMF predicts that by 2028, BRICS countries will account for nearly 38% of the world’s GDP, overtaking the G7. By developing their own financial systems, like the proposed BRICS Bridge, these countries are trying to create a new economic order.’

Among the truisms…that Americans believe, but are likely not true at all are…

…that other forms of government cannot compete with US democracy…

…that other economic systems cannot compete with the ‘free’ American economy…

…and that the Pentagon can kick any butt in the world, anytime it wants.

It is through those crystal truths that we see why ‘The West’ is destined to be triumphant…not just now…but more or less forever.

And yet, here’s the latest from Asia Times:

Researcher Geoff Roberts has compiled a very useful list of what China is doing right.

And when it comes to the nitty gritty, the numbers are staggering. Here are just a few, apart from GDP growth:

Foreign goods trade is up 6.1% to $2.9 trillion year-on-year.
The trade surplus is at $85 billion, up 12% compared to 2023.
ASEAN trade is up by 10.5% to $80 billion; China is the number one trade partner of individual ASEAN members.
China had a record crop, 150 million tonnes, of cereal grains.
The courier sector handled 80 billion parcels, up 23% year-on-year.
SMIC is the world’s number two pure-play foundry, after Taiwan’s TSMC.
China Telecom paid $265 million for 23% of QuantumCTek, patentor of Micius, the world’s first quantum communications satellite.
Commercial aerospace launched 39% of China’s 26 rockets.
Invention patents rose 43% to 524,000. China is the first country with 4 million domestic invention patents in force.
Baidu’s 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan will break even in Q4 and will be profitable next year.
China has 47% of the world’s top AI talent. It added no less than 2000 AI courses to school and college curricula since 2019.
Of world-class institutions doubling as research leaders, 7 out of 10 are Chinese, including the top one: the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ahead of Harvard.

US geo-strategists were counting on India to maintain a counterweight to China. The two are historic enemies. And now, India has a bigger population and a growing economy.

But wait. Here’s ‘Spengler:’

‘India’s Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping are moving closer together.

‘India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 25 endorsed her economic advisor’s proposal to open the country to direct investment from China, effectively frozen since the Sino-Indian border clashes of 2020.

‘The proposed opening to China — a rebuke to American diplomacy in the region — followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi earlier this month.

‘Asia Times’ newsletter Global Risk-Reward Monitor reported exclusively July 11, “Modi asked Putin to help India resolve its longstanding border dispute with China. This is the most important military conflict in Asia, limited as it is, because it puts the region’s two largest countries at odds. Russian mediation, however informal, would entail a diplomatic revolution, and make a mockery of America’s hope of rallying Asian countries against China.”’

If ‘The West’ (which Orwell called ‘Oceania’) is really in decline, something else must rise. And yes, the BRICS and the Eurasian Heartland seem to be coming together to oppose it.

What next?

Stay tuned.

Regards,