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Agree with the rest, but if you really see Shanghai, you should know it is not on par with Hungary and Poland, and I am not just talking about the world class infrastructure that would put Los Angeles and Chicago in shame here.
If it were a country Shanghai and its nearby area (still a large population of about 30 million) is at least comparable to the average standard of Spain and Italy. Its standard of living surpassed that of Portugal years ago.
Personally, I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with you. I'm just going by some data that is available. Of course, we all know that the HDI is not a perfect measure, but it's just the metric that was used here. Take it for what you will and with a grain of salt.
Taking back Taiwan by force is political unfeasible right now. Maintaining status quo is the best solution going forward, as no one wants to rock the boat. Taiwan also offers a nice alternative to China, with its good preservation of traditional Chinese culture in contrast to the monolithic concrete forests on the mainland.
I don't think it will primarily be by force. A significant percentage of the rich and powerful in Taiwan have their fortunes tied to cheap mainland labor. It will be a combination of implied force, and one of the most elaborate public relations campaigns in history.
China already proclaims to have the largest GDP, largest trading nation, etc. etc. but I still don't see countries flocking to sign military alliance treaties with Beijing, save NK (who really has no choice) and a few Afro countries who are more interested in China's check book. I also don't see millions of immigrants flocking to China's shores looking for a better life and better opportunities. Quite the reverse - Vancouver, Sydney, HK, SF, and New York receive hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants (investors, visa-holding students applying for green card and citizenship) every year - the announcement that China has the No. 1 GDP now has done nothing to even slow down the outflow of human capital out of China.
Also, many nations are indeed signing bilateral free trade treaties with China, but it's more of an indication that they are interested in China's $$$ and abundant labor force. Business comes first, even in democracies, and China is not the only country in the world who knows how to play the game of capitalism.
The Chinese, especially the CHN government, would rather nobody knows how big the Chinese economy really is....It's actually the West that is making such a stupid deal out of this PPP pissing contest. No CHN government official in his/her right mind would actually mention, let alone boast, about it.
Moderator cut: In Mandarin Chinese there are many shows on CCTV that try o downplay, explain away or debunk this PPP largest BS.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 10-10-2014 at 09:28 PM..
Reason: Discuss the topic not other posters
Taking back Taiwan by force is political unfeasible right now. Maintaining status quo is the best solution going forward, as no one wants to rock the boat. Taiwan also offers a nice alternative to China, with its good preservation of traditional Chinese culture in contrast to the monolithic concrete forests on the mainland.
Yes, the complaint from taiwan about China before used to be "poor and blank"...now it's "monolithic concrete forest"...whatever. Who cares? Taiwan is a nice place to visit. But it will never be able to officially become the ROT, ever. I think the current situation suits everyone.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 10-10-2014 at 09:31 PM..
Reason: Fixed formatting
China already proclaims to have the largest GDP, largest trading nation, etc. etc. but I still don't see countries flocking to sign military alliance treaties with Beijing, save NK (who really has no choice) and a few Afro countries who are more interested in China's check book. I also don't see millions of immigrants flocking to China's shores looking for a better life and better opportunities. Quite the reverse - Vancouver, Sydney, HK, SF, and New York receive hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants (investors, visa-holding students applying for green card and citizenship) every year - the announcement that China has the No. 1 GDP now has done nothing to even slow down the outflow of human capital out of China.
Also, many nations are indeed signing bilateral free trade treaties with China, but it's more of an indication that they are interested in China's $$$ and abundant labor force. Business comes first, even in democracies, and China is not the only country in the world who knows how to play the game of capitalism.
Maintaining an alliance is an expensive business. For the US to maintain its system of alliances; it had to transfer technology, open up its labor market to mass immigration, open up its market to trade, fight wars on behalf of allied countries, protect trade and oil routes, and provide foreign aid and investments. Is it really worth it? A lot of American citizens don't seem to think so since they are angry about globalization and mass immigration. They also aren't happy the tech transfers helped certain countries wreck America's manufacturing base. China might be smart in not pursuing any alliances since they are more or less massive bribes in exchange for favors.
Actually, this just goes to show that you know nothing about China. The Chinese, especially the CHN government, would rather nobody knows how big the Chinese economy really is....It's actually the West that is making such a stupid deal out of this PPP pissing contest. No CHN government official in his/her right mind would actually mention, let alone boast, about it.
If you care to, or are able to understand Mandarin Chinese, then you would see so many shows on CCTV that try o downplay, explain away or debunk this PPP largest BS. So stop making assumptions when you know next to nothing about China.
I may be wrong, but I believe bostonkid is Chinese or Chinese-American
The IMF report is released every 6 months. In April China's GDP for 2014 was estimated at 62.8 trillion Yuan, and in October it was revised to 64.5 trillion Yuan (2.55% change).
As the exchange rate changed only slightly (6.26 Yuan/USD to 6.22 Yuan/USD) that is equivalent to just over $10 trillion dollars both times.
What changed is what the IMF believes is the "purchasing power" of the Yuan. In April the IMF believed that 60 plus trillion Yuan had the purchasing power of $14 trillion USD. Now they think it has the equivalent purchasing power of over $17 trillion USD. In other words they had a better estimate of prices in China. Suddenly the GDP of China (using PPP) went from $3 trillion less than the USA to slightly more.
Using the straight exchange rate it is still far behind. And as the population of China is 4.3 times the population of the USA, the GDP per person is still very low.
It is not the case that there was real expansion of the economy that much in 6 months.
That was mean. You should not burst their bubbles in any way. Let all the humbled Chinese enjoy and contemplate this moment.
By PPP, according to the IMF, by the end of 2014, China will make up 16.48% of the world's purchasing-power adjusted GDP (or $17.632 trillion), and the US will make up just 16.28% (or $17.416 trillion):
I may be wrong, but I believe bostonkid is Chinese or Chinese-American
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennyone
And so? What's your point?
His point was that you had previously said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennyone
If you care to, or are able to understand Mandarin Chinese, then you would see so many shows on CCTV that try o downplay, explain away or debunk this PPP largest BS. So stop making assumptions when you know next to nothing about China.
If bostonkid is Chinese or Chinese American there's probably a good chance that they know more than "next to nothing" about China, and may indeed speak Mandarin. It's entirely possible. I don't think that it's constructive to automatically try to shut down any dissent by insisting that the opposing viewpoint was reached via stupidity. Why not ask them how they came to that conclusion instead?
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