China on the rise and the US in decline. When will the curves intersect?

...and we will allow the Japanese to build carriers again. Let the Chinese deal with that!!

Since we seem to have ceded space to China, they will certainly want to be able to project surface power at us once they can easily "throw rocks" at us from the moon.

But, then, that won't happen for at least 5 or 10 years, so let's continue "borrowing our way to prosperity".

What should we be panicking about?

The fact that the US produces close to 0% of the world's large commercial ships.

Who does enjoy a comparative advantage in shipbuilding?

South Korea (pop. 48 million) produced close to 40% of the world's ships in 2010; China just surpassed South Korea and Japan produces close to 20%

The US and its European allies? 0%

And we wonder why we suffer from mass unemployment?

Hey us Brits have a couple of carriers building that we don't want. Gordon (one eyed bandit) Brown tied up the contracts for the ships to be built next to his constituency so tightly that it would cost more to cancel them than build them. So two modern 65000 tonne boats going cheap.

...because this article misses the point...

It's not about weapons systems, naval technology, or anything at all having to do with the world TODAY...

China sees its future as a world-leading trading nation and global power, and is preparing to extend its political influence, protect trade routes and sea lanes, and to render the United States Navy 'obsolete' within 2000 miles of its cost.

It won't happen anytime soon (which is why this article misses the point), but... China takes the long view, something the United States is culturally UNABLE to do.

Consider that the United States elects a new President every four years, that US corporations must announce financial results every three months... and that 20 years represents roughly 5% of ALL United States history, while an equivalent cultural time span in China would encompass at least an entire century...

These 'pace-of-life' comparisons illustrate a tremendous strategic ADVANTAGE enjoyed by China. American strategists are not necessarily inferior to their Chinese counterparts, but they have no real chance of ever actually executing a five-year plan, much less a 20-year or 50-year strategy. (In fact, it could well be argued that the term "American strategist" is a complete oxymoron...)

Today, the United States Navy would annihilate anything China could put to sea, regardless of the so-called ASBM threat. In ten years, it may be much the same... but one day the USN will meet its match in the Chinese fleet, and the era of American high-seas dominance will come to an end...

China builds, not buys, an aircraft carrier using indigenous technology.

It reminds me some events before the armaments race of WW 1 had started. I am not certain of the specific issues, but I studied that the German Kaiser at the time, Wilhem II, had read a book on maritime power. He had apparently scribbled in it a phrase close enough to "Great powers project sea military power. Germany must have its fleet build." The phrase matches the description coming from China, "All the big boys got it, when are we grown enough to have it?"

It is not that there are wasting good money on a ship, they could seek security. Hey, North and South Korea are still at their throats. But China has got to figure a better way to interact with Viet Nam, Phillipines, Taiwan (which is ahem) and Japan than an old ship, which was meant to be converted to a casino. Managing and interacting with people - both foreign and their own nationals - can prove to be a harder issue than the technical design of a machine. When a nation figures this out, that is when you are grown up enough to work with it.

I am surprised at the a justification in financing the ship. Instead of "Nah, not doing much, security or something", to be along the lines of "All other nations have it", is worrying. It reveals some insecurities about themselves.

China does not mean to incite war of any sort. To gain power China is using its well accumulated wealth to invest in countries all over the world.

Read this China five year plan analysis by an expert in the Eurasia group to see where is China headed militarily: http://laowaiblog.com/the-new-china/

Talk of carriers distracts from China's real threat in a clash, its submarines and missiles.

The world needs to worried that the Chinese have a carrier. This thing is second hand from Ukraine! If Ukraine didn't want it, what does that say? So now China can build fifty knock-offs of a carrier that was probably designed before WWII using ramps for takeoffs. China can load it with knock-off aircraft from Russia and knock-off weapon systems from Pakistan or Iran. Everybody forgets one thing about China. What was the last thing that China actually innovated that the world wants? Would that be gun powder? Even back then it was probably copied from somewhere else.
And as a comment above noted - China takes the long view, so the US better watch out. Does that mean in 500 years, 1000 years? Personally I would believe the latter. They might want to hurry up though, global warming will destroy the planet before that. At least that's what they say.

Whether China carrier entry will make any significant changes in the near future esp in Asian`s water,that is yet to be seen. My guess is,yes,it will . To say that she will threaten her immediate neighbor,no, I don't think so. For all these to happen,China itself will have everything to loose. Her ambition now is to project to the world her long record of civilisations and also to tell the world esp the US,we can do better karmaloop promo codes. Had China wanted her way,she don't have to buy the US bonds. She can afford to realize them at a loss and guess what would happen next.

History has shown that they don't go around and conquer any country . With her hard earned wealth,she has the duty to safeguard all her interests by building up the 3 armed services. US,being the world biggest arms supplier would go around to tell a different story to shove her arms sales. When you are so used to be the number one in the world,suddenly there's a competitor ,you feel uneasy. More so,when one side is tipping down the scale and the other going up by leaps and bound. That's the reality !

that countries like China feel the need to have an Aircraft Carrier is because the hegemony of the USA..I think any country that doesn't try to arm itself against the USA is foolish.

what do you expect, they are a rising superpower

China will probably destroy the US through it's manipulation of it's currency and selling us it cheap exports rather than fight a war against us.

At our current rate of borrowing from China to finance our government they will one day own this country without a war. We are going to follow the route of the Soviet Union unless we learn that we can not fight wars on borrowed money.

If we are going to survive we need to get our spending under control, raise tax levels back to what they were before G. Bush and start to rebuild the infrastructure of this country and rebuild our manufacturing base.

The short sighted viewpoint of our corporate leaders who are more concerned with short term profits than long term survival must be corrected and brought under control.

Chang S

China sees its future as a world-leading trading nation and global power, and is preparing to extend its political influence, Tavares protect trade routes and sea lanes, and to render the United States Navy 'obsolete' within 2000 miles of its cost.

I suspect that US forces are far superior to Chinese forces plus they have had a lot more practise too.

China's political strength comes from its financial strength. If you look at recent events like the Dalai Lama's visit to Washington what is making Obama so shy? It is not aircraft carriers or nukes it is China's financial power.

Aircraft carriers are yesterday's technology. It will help China in terms of its local power base & interests but otherwise it is irrelevant. If
events hot up in the South China Seas I imagine it will heading out there at some stage. Maybe some military exercises near Taiwan or Vietnam too?

Not to mention worker wages, insurance, and land are much more expensive here than in China. In the end, the ships built in the US would be significantly more expensive than the ships built in China and would never be competetive in the global market waystoearnmoneyonline. If we are going to survive we need to get our spending under control, raise tax levels back to what they were before G. Bush and start to rebuild the infrastructure of this country and rebuild our manufacturing base.

When a one-party state hosts an Olympics, ten years later that state circles the drain if it isn't already down it. To wit:

1936: Berlin Olympics / Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics
1946: Allied Occupation

1980: Moscow Olympics
1990: Collapse of Communism

1984: Sarajevo Winter Olympics
1994: Yugoslav Civil War

2008: Beijing Olympics:
2018: ?

Remember, you heard it here first.