Thread: China
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Old 13th January 2021, 01:46 PM   #120
lomiller
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Originally Posted by Samson View Post
It may be obvious, but could you possibly spell out the Trump/China parallels?
Their approach to trade, international relations and internal politics are all very similar. They view trade as a zero sum game they can "win" by exploiting other nations instead of a partnership where both sides benefit.


International relations are all about projecting prestige and power and exerting authority and control over other nations with military and economic threats. Also, once you dig a little there is an innate sense of racial superiority underpinning their perceptions of what the world order should look like.

In terms of internal politics they are both Xi and Trump authoritarian where people are expected to spend considerable time and effort making them look good. Rules can be made or broken on a whim to further their personal goals regardless of any long term negative consequences. China is one party rule, while Republicans in general and Trump in particular are doing many things in the background to ensure one party rule in spite of being a minority.

Trump doesn't have the same level of control over government institutions nor has he suppressed the challenges to his rule, but he certainly made a play for it.
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