The Washington Times reports we’re slapping sanctions on China because — one mo’ time — they’re exporting components for WMDs. (That’s weapons of mass destruction, kids. Nukes, Bio, Chem = NBC or WMD.) Anyway, don’t bother to read this yawner. Instead, truck over to Amazon and pick up a copy of Gordon Chang’s The Coming Collapse of China.
This book has been my bedside reading all week, and it’s part of what led to yesterday’s minidissertation on a similar subject. Chang’s writing isn’t the most supple, but he paints a convincing picture. Namely, that China’s refusal to truly reform their banks, coupled with what’s going to be their first real competition — thanks to the WTO — means a short, unhappy future for the Chinese Communist Party.
VodkaPundit says China won’t go the warlord route. Not quite, anyway. But when the center in Beijing collapses — and it will — no new center will quickly arise to replace it. We’ll see competing governments, ala Tapei vs Beijing, only writ much, much larger.
Catch up on your Robert D. Kaplan and Ralph Peters over at Parameters for a more brutal, much better written glimpse into the future. Sorry for not having the links, but I won’t have access to those until this evening.
UPDATE: Here’s that Ralph Peters link over at Parameters. In case you’re not familiar, Parameters is a quarterly publication of the US Army War College. Don’t think Rambo, think Thucydides. Very smart stuff. You can also find Peters’ superb fiction on Amazon. Same goes for Kaplan’s non-fiction.
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