Has China Won World War 3 Without Firing a
Single Bullet?
China
is one of the major powers in the world. It has one of the biggest economies in the
world. The United States is the largest economies in the world at present. China
has in the last decade overtaken Japan to become the second-largest economy in the
world. Other countries that have large economies are Japan, Germany, France,
India, United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy.
Chinese Century
19th Century has belonged to the British."Pax Britannica"(British Peace) is the term popularly used for the British Empire between 1825 to 1915. The British
Empire was so big that the Sun Never set in the Empire. It had colonies from
West Indies to India and Hongkong in the East. British navy controlled most of the sea trade routes.
20th Century is popularly known as The American Century. After
World war 2 United States rose into prominence and emerged as a major economic
power. After a great recession in 1930, it did splendid economic recovery and
emerged as a strong economy. The United States took the leadership role in the
world. It has many world-class companies that have sales in different parts of
the world. The computer revolution has heralded information age. Silicon Valley is
the birthplace of many multinational companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.
Chinese Century is a term suggesting that the 21st Century
will belong to China. The 21st Century will be geopolitically
dominated by China.
China has the size and population to fulfill its ambition. China has the
largest population in the world. China had state policies that are different
from the rest of the world. China is governed by a single party. It has a communist-style of governance, unlike western democracies. The government is secretive. The labor laws are different from the rest of the
world. China produces cheap machines, steel, garments, textile, electronic
instruments, computers, etc. These things are produced on a mass scale. Cheap labor
keeps the cost low. China can sell these items to different countries in
the world because of lower rates.
American President has many times
labeled China as a currency manipulator. The economy of China is going to overtake
the Economy of the United States in the next two decades. The Chinese economy is set to
become the largest economy in the world.
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| Islands in the South China Sea. |
China has created the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an alternative to
Nato. China has revived the Silk Road of the past. It has created a belt and
road initiative. It has connected China to Germany by train so that Chinese
goods can travel to Europe easily. The Belt and Road initiative passes through
many countries. This improves trade between the countries.
COVID 19
The COVID 19 pandemic started from Wuhan City in Hubei Province of
China. It perhaps started from the seafood market in Wuhan. Incidentally, Wuhan has
a Virology research center where a lot of research is done about coronavirus and
other viruses. Viruses can be used as biological warfare agents. Many people
suspect that the virus accidentally leaked from the lab. There is no proof of that. However many conspiracy theories are floating around.
After an initial lag
of response China did the lockdown of Wuhan City. The movement of people out of the
city was stopped. Its lockdown was strictly implemented.
China was ready
with a big hospital in 10 days in Wuhan. It was very effective in controlling
the disease. The disease could not spread to other parts of China like Shanghai
and Beijing. The discipline paid off handsomely.
However, the disease
did spread to other countries. Whether unknowingly or knowingly this
sophisticated Chinese government allowed its overseas spread. The local spread was
contained but the international spread was not. Many Chinese were returning to
Europe and the US from Wuhan and other Chinese cities by air travel. This caused the spread of the disease to other countries where it has spread like wildfire.
Sluggish Response Of Other Countries.
The initial response of many Western Countries was very sluggish. Many leaders thought It is just another flu. Western Countries like Italy, France, UK, USA have very good health infrastructure. However, the pandemic was far too severe. It has overwhelmed the health systems of the countries. International air travel could have been banned early. This decisive step could have stopped the pandemic in the early stages.
Many people in The West especially the United States are not used to wearing a mask. They perceive it as a threat to their freedom. SAR's Epidemic in Asia in 2002-20004 made the population aware of the threat of respiratory infections. Many people in HongKong, China, Singapore, Japan routinely wear masks. This has contributed to controlling the infection this time quickly.
Advantage China
Meantime China has controlled the infection efficiently. The Western democracies are suffering from the Pandemic. The worst-hit are the United States, the UK, Italy, Spain, France, and Iran. The number of cases in India and Brazil is also increasing. Many countries want to reopen the economy. This reopening can cause a further flare-up of the infection.
Unlike China, the lockdown was not strictly implemented. This has lead to a huge loss of human lives. Presently United states have the highest mortality followed by the UK and Italy. The pandemic is far from over. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci the Physician who is at the forefront of the American response has said that we cannot decide on the timeline, The virus will decide the timeline.
Joblessness has increased. Many industries are on the verge of collapse. Small businesses have been hit badly. This has caused huge economic loss to the countries. The economies of Europe and North America can enter into a recession. The price of oil has collapsed because of weak demand. This will again benefit the major consumers of oil like China.
China has recovered from the pandemic efficiently. It has reopened businesses. International travel has started. It has resumed its exports. Its markets are opened. The indigenous industries of the rest of the world are decimated. They are looking to China to supply them with masks, PPE's For healthcare workers and pharmaceutical ingredients. China's economy will start booming again in no time.
The Chinese economy is on the path of recovery. On the other hand, the economies of most of the countries are on shaky grounds. China has managed the epidemic efficiently. Meantime the overconfident western democracies are struggling to contain the pandemic and its economic consequences. China has won the war without firing a single bullet!.
