Why America is worried about China

Since the end of the Cold War, the USA has been the dominant power in the world. However, this dominance may soon be challenged. The two nations which appear best poised to do so are China and Russia. However, China is a greater concern for three reasons: China has a much larger population than Russia, China is exporting goods to the USA at an unprecedented rate, and China is known to have a very large espionage network eager to steal American military and trade secrets.

China’s large population represents a huge labour pool. This translates into economic power. As a result, China’s economy has experienced tremendous growth. Along with the tremendous growth in the Chinese economy is a very large army which will become even more powerful in the future. China has regained Hong Kong and aims to take control of Taiwan. The USA must be very careful with the issue of Taiwan because the fact is that although it adheres to a strict “One China Policy”, the USA is Taiwan’s largest trading partner.

Along with China’s great population is a territory which is the third largest in the world, only behind Russia and Canada. Although China has the largest population in the world, it is important to note that many of the western regions are relatively uninhabited. As a result, many natural resources may yet be mined there. As for Tibet, this territory is not only a tourist attraction, but also useful for nuclear testing. It is no secret that China wishes to improve its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

The amount of goods which China now exports to the USA is higher than ever. In fact, the USA has a trade loss with China because American exports to China are significantly lower than are Chinese exports to the USA. Though recent scandals have damaged the reputation of Chinese goods, Chinese labour costs are so low that multinational corporations will continue to use China to manufacture their goods. Also, the USA will continue to import Chinese goods at an unprecedented rate because the USA wants its exporters to gain increased access to the huge and lucrative Chinese market in return.

In the area of espionage, Canada’s former Minister of External Affairs Peter MacKay once angered the Chinese government when he claimed that China had a large espionage network operating within Canada with the intent of stealing industrial and trade secrets. Though the comments surprised few experts in Canada-China relations, the surprise was that Peter MacKay made the claim publicly. However, China’s espionage network is certainly not restricted to Canada. It is extensive and also intent on stealing as many American trade and military secrets as possible.

China’s booming economy, extensive espionage network, huge military, and desire to both modernize and increase its arsenal of nuclear weapons are matters of grave concern to the USA. Other serious issues are China’s control of Hong Kong and desire to assert full control over Taiwan. The Chinese government appears intent to become the world’s next superpower and overtake the USA in the process. Though the USA and its allies are doing everything in their power to prevent this, China’s ambitions are nevertheless very worrisome.