That would be stupid. The Chinese may be many things but not stupid. We are still stronger than China and a war between us and China would serve only to weaken both countries and open up for attacks from other countries. If anything they might start another Cold War. I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing. The world seemed so much safer during the Cold War. Alas, I don't think we'll be having a Cold War either. They're just building deterrants because they're as paranoid as we are. Nobody really wants to throw the first punch, wouldn't even if we weren't interdependent on one another.

[quote]Thanks for making my point.
1. Tibet has been a disputed territory for generations.
2. Taiwan has always been a Chinese island. The rag-tag forces of the Kuomintang escaped to Formosa (Taiwan) and then tried to declare it autonomous. No US president has agreed with that wild claim. Taiwan doesn't even have nation status at the UN.
You have 3,000+ years of history to work with and all you could come up with were these puny "examples."

You have to go much further back than taiwan to find a violent feudal China.

AD 220 - 280 features the wonderful Three Kingdoms era of civil wars.
My favorite representation of which is the video game "Dynasty Warriors" by Koei. Despite being completely inaccurate, it's a whole lot of fun picking a dynasty and pummelling all the others into submission =)

But I digress...

China is a psuedo communism now. The people finally found something that works against their government. They strike. As a result conditions and social reform are rampantly spreading in China. However, it is still very difficult for the average person to run for office.

I heard an interview with one person who tried.. apparently the Communist Party Leader in his area would regularly pick him up off of the street with his cronies and beat the crap out of him for not going with their plans in the public meeting, but never killed him because it would be political suicide to do THAT.

Craziness..

I already told you how. We want cheap crap. They want jobs and money. We both benefit.

Their cost of living is also dramatically less than ours.

Not that I am defending the PRC mind you. But they do benefit more than if they did not trade with us at all.

The exploitation goes both ways. We have an economic leash on China now that we can use in certain volitile situations (like Taiwan and North Korea). A trade deficit can be an advantage, because it makes your enemy dependent on you. The PRC is much less likely to (*)(*)(*)(*) us off if we are the major force behind their economic ascention.

The fault really lies with Americans, not with our government. China's strength is that it can produce crap cheap. Our strength is that we can produce crap that is better. American companies need to keep quality up to compete. If they dont (or cant) they deserve to fail. I dont blame commie China for our own failures.

This is not new, and is in response to our missile defense system, which China complains about every chance it gets. The PRC is not suicidal...they will never use nukes unless we try to invade them, which is not going to happen.

China will not commit suicide over Taiwan. It is as simple as that. Launching nukes is the equivilant of suicide.

Um...yes they do. When was the last time you bought a Chinese made computer for example? A Chinese car? Would you buy either even if they were really cheap?

We do make better products. China is not known for their quality...they are known for their cheap products. We cant compete with their labor, nor should we even try. All things considered, I prefer our current position to that of a manufacturing power like China.

I agree. An economic war is not realistic, and is less likely to advance that goal.

What you have proven is that the PRC will aggressively invade anything they believe belongs to them. Thanks for proving my point.

Taiwan has never been occupied by the PRC. The PRC has no more claim to it than America has to Canada.

Only because China has threatened an invasion if they declare independence. If I hold a gun to the head of a hostage it doesnt mean that hostage belongs to me.

So if it was standard practice in the past we are obligated to go along with it now too? Do you fell the same way about slavery and women's rights or just China?

The PRC does not = all chinese.

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