China, Fear of

Does China give the rest of the world reasons for fear, in political, economic or social terms? Or is the ‘Terror from the East’ merely a myth?

China has always featured prominently in the Western imagination. In early history, the threat purportedly posed by China can be linked to two factors ; the huge size of the State both in land and population, and the fact that China did not engage in dynamic relations with other nations. In the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, China was characterised by increasing poverty and political instability. The Boxer Rebellion, the Opium Wars, and conflicts between regional warlords suggested that China suffered from internal disarray and any contact with foreign powers was predominantly hostile. However, the actual threat of China to the West stems largely from the 1949 Communist Revolution. The inhumanity of the regime of Mao Zedong, in particular the supposed ‘Cultural Revolution’ and the disastrous economic policy of the ‘Great Leap Forward’ brought Western opprobrium, indicated by their refusal to recognize China within the United Nations organization. The aggressive foreign policy of the Cold War years, apparent in intervention in Korea, and more significantly, in the provision of arms to various Communist nations, created an image of an Eastern warmonger and powerbroker. Recently, the admission of China into the World Trading Organization, the return of Hong Kong and Macao to mainland rule, and the efforts to made by Jiang Zemin, the Chinese premier, have done much to improve relations with the West. However, the fear of China continues to haunt the minds of the Western leaders. The decisive power of a regime prepared to send tanks against demonstrators in Tiannemen Square will not be easily forgotten. The ‘Cox Report’ revealed that China had acquired American nuclear weapon technology, and China remains the only known nation to target its missiles at the USA. It would seem no surprise that Bill Clinton should have announced, in the twilight of his presidency, policies of ‘nuclear missile defence’ and ‘theater missile defense.

Probably a 3rd World War would start if China tries to touch America Itself. Yes, we know Uncle Sam isn't that Strong enough Economically, IDK Politically but that state is respected and followed by most countries. China is bullying most of the South East Asian Countries since you stated that they are a large country to begin with. (The Dispute of Spratly Islands) Well If China would do Harm to some country well, USA and UN will do a step to hold China down again.

sometimes i think why this "sleeping giants" is never allied with another giants from europe Russia, since both of them have the same ideology and i think if both of them combined their power i am afraid that stability of the world will be broken.

The only thing I can think of about China is they are the one responsible for the production of low quality products and then they distributed it all over the globe. Even the United States was flooded with their merchandize and it damaged the commercial industry since they have done a lot of production which cost cheaper than the usual brands. But I think people are now learning their lessons that it's not wise to buy these cheap products because of it's low quality. And how can I forget the melamine scare? Those are ingredients of their cheap milks too. Oh well I can't believe they would allow such production when the primary victims here are innocent babies and children. Good thing it has been addressed already. I just hope it would permanently be gone.