"The United States also has big problems. But Americans are debating them vigorously, know what they are, and are now looking to elect the leaders to fix them."

Hardy har har.

Man, that China is seriously screwed if its got a public debt to GDP ratio of 80%. Imagine having a debt that high. Which reminds me, how high is US public debt again?

This one certainly belongs in the pantheon of lazy, dim-witted lists. The moreso because it appears in a prestigious journal, FP.
The unproven, negative assertions and outdated stereotypes pretty much summarize the past 60 years of Western nonsense about China.
Hell, they go back further than that! In the author's sequel we'll no doubt hear about "Johnny Chinaman" and the well-known "Yellow Peril".
Mr. Blumenthal is paid to create threats that our foreign policy (I.e., defense-industrial complex) can respond to with cries for more funds. This is a long-honored profession which is contributing to our national bankruptcy and utter ruin. Let us eschew such nonsense before we as a ntion disappear down history's drain hole.

Because I can't find a better way to express my indifference.
Remeber Yogi Berra's words: "Its hard to make predictions, especially about the future."

Wow, and I hoped that these idiotic, self-serving lists have come to and end. Old stereotypes, big lies, hypocrisy and hate-mongering, you are no better than any Chinese censor-officer. Money quote:
"But despite U.S. demonstrations of benevolence, China still views the United States as its enemy or, on better days, its rival" - excuse me? You are writing, portraying China as an evil empire, yet talk about your own benevolence for those sorry Chinese? Ahem.

I thought China and the neocon were friends now. What has happened?

if online help would be the way, I don't thing it is doing anything, although my chinese friends site is not helping yet in any way.

Do you who make your pro-Beijing posts know the fenqing? (Google "fenqing" which are China's 21st century KKK)

Apparently you don't know that domestically the CCP propagandizes the Chinese sheeple every day against the United States. The Chinese sheeple from birth are propagandized to hate the United States. The Chinese get it in school, on TV, in books - from everywhere.

The Chinese blame the United States for everything from earthquakes (weather warfare) to inflation to the Falun Gong and anything else that comes along in China. To the Chinese sheeple, there's nothing wrong with China per se, or in China per se. All problems in China are caused by the United States. The Chinese never tire of their thousands year old thesis that the Chinese are innocent victims of the world of hostile outside foreign devils.

Simultaneously, the Chinese are the Middle Kingdom and presently are arming themselves to prove it. Beijing believes it can defeat the United States while avoiding any nuclear explosions. Beijing believes it can destroy all US satellites whether government or privately owned, cripple the US by cyber attacks and destroy the US Navy on the high seas. These people believe with absolute certainty they deserve to rule the world simply because they are the Chinese.

Grow up and learn something about China and the Chinese, the people behind the Great Wall.

ROFL this guy actually thinks that the United States is out for the betterment of the world.

If this is comedy its good.
If this is reality its a unicorn.
If this is a unicorn its imaginary.

I see more unicorn fantasies in this article :P, so many predictions in this article with so much assertory, however, any realistic policy researcher would not speak in this way.

This is the argument that has the most purchase over the United States' China policy. Treat China like an enemy, the belief goes, and it will become an enemy. Conversely, treat China like a friend, and it will become a friend. They create a lot of prom dress and evening gowns for a lot of US companies

yea, i Agree in I thought China and the neocon were friends now. What has happened...if online help would be the way, I don't thing it is doing anything, although my chinese friends site is not helping yet in any way. Thanks !
Ar Condicionado Imoveis Acompanhante Massagistas Curso Ar Condicionado

The writer of this article works for a committee funded by, and reporting to, the Congress.

If this is what they report then there seems to be a problem ...

....knows exactly what he is talking about. The only real error here is his remarks on Afghanistan. And he is also correct in his assertions about China's growth -- if China had not been given access to the US market and to US-allied investment and export opportunities from Taiwan, it would still be impoverished, backward craphole.

It would be great if the criticisms of some here were backed by actual history. One only needs to look around China to see how it will behave -- territorial claims on all its neighbors, a constant flow of military threats, the ramping up of the military threat facing Taiwan even though the government there serves Beijing's interests and relations are good -- some of you should read what China's military and political publications say in Chinese (i.e. when they think nobody is listening). But I ask too much -- that requires the ability to think and read and draw conclusions.

Michael Turton
The View from Taiwan

What does the picture (on page 5) of Biden striding with Mongolian president have anything to do with America's engaging with China?

On the territorial claims, China has never made new claims besides the heritage it got from the before-1949 KMT government. As a matter of fact, it abandoned a bunch of claims, for instance, Mongolia, and that's why Biden could be seen in a picture with lines of proud Mongolian soldiers behind.

You can tell that this article is well-reasoned and intelligently written simply by the sheer number of idiotic, foaming-at-the-mouth responses that it has inspired from FP's reliable brigade of Netizens. They always react to rational criticism of China, no matter how detailed, by resorting to the following rhetorical non-starters:

1) "If China's bad, just look at the US!" - a papered-over form of the age-old, puerile "I know you are, but what I am?!"

2) "This guy is just a racist" - in recent entries on his FP blog, Clyde Prestowitz has eloquently dismantled the pro-China crowd's insistence that all "China-bashing" (and, furthermore, the very term "China-bashing") is just a form of Western arrogance and racial intolerance. This knee-jerk reaction does nothing to engage the argument in logical terms, nor does it account for, say, the highly multicultural and increasingly non-white character of the West, which in terms of diversity is far beyond anything that exists in China.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Blumenthal.

From a german perspective I would add that the fear about technological and patent "transfer" is the highest one, when it comes to China. I was working in a smaller german biotech company which has manufactured resveratrol and other stuff. After beeing bought by a friendly chinese company the technological leech started very soon.

The variations that Myths Unicorn following through their own policies that an old society turned a man becomes a ghost and then new society turned a devil becomes a human form

I tried to show my girlfriend some web sites about a certain 'artist' and 'tax dodger'. But my web browser kept giving me 404 page not found. So I tried to show her something about a famous tibetan terrorist and also got 404 not found. She asked 'Why do foreigners want to know bad things about China?" The US will come to regret the day we threw Taiwan under the bus....

T^hat we don't have to worry about the influence of armament makers, the infamous nihilitary-industrial complex, which exists world wide, is destroying our work to improve the world economy and social relations, and for whom the writer obviously works.

I applaud this writer instead:

"Mr. Blumenthal is paid to create threats that our foreign policy (I.e., defense-industrial complex) can respond to with cries for more funds. This is a long-honored profession which is contributing to our national bankruptcy and utter ruin. Let us eschew such nonsense before we as a nation disappear down history's drain hole."

FP,

Page 5 has a picture of Joe Biden's visit to Mongolia... You'd think FP would realize, especially in an article like this one, how insutling it is to Mongolia to have a picture like this in an article about China -- a completely separate nation with a totally different culture, people, language, etc.

FP -- get it right!!

A concerned reader,

Mr. Ariel Wyckoff

How about an opinion from somebody that has studied and understands China specifically, rather than international relations at a whole: http://www.chinahearsay.com/the-top-ten-unicorns-of-china-policy-my-two-cents/

Anybody that has not lived in China and who cannot use Mandarin Chinese to communicate should be very hesitant and cautious about making any kind of opinions. In the same way that a Kremlinologist would be in a better position than any international relations generalist to understand and to make claims about the U.S.S.R., one can not get a real understanding of China from reading the New York Times and a couple of China-focused books.

It is so funny to believe that China hated US that much. Too much, that it even banned one social networking site to make use of the Chinese community. Anyway, China may have grinding teeth towards the US and maybe they are really up to something in the future. Nevertheless, haven’t anyone thought of the idea, that most countries that envies the US must be thinking the same way too? One thing that can be certain from the list is that the United States may not need China to solve certain problems. I think the United States wants China to act like fly zapper, to be more helpful, rather than being less helpful.

The Chinese blame the United States for everything from earthquakes (weather warfare) to inflation to the Falun Gong and anything else that comes along in China. To the Chinese sheeple, there's nothing wrong with China per se, or in China per se. seslichat All problems in China are caused by the United States. The Chinese never tire of their thousands year old thesis that the Chinese are innocent victims of the world of hostile outside foreign devils.

About 40 years ago my mom told me she was having repeated dreams of Red Chinese soldiers invading America. Russia? No worries. My mom is no dummy. I’ve never forgotten what she told me.
Our drones are infected by a virus probably because of the use of microchips imported from China.
Idaho, and other states, are willing to let the Chicoms build independent “economic” zones on OUR LAND?
I’m a large enough person I could throw one of the little bastards a fair piece. But I wouldn’t trust them that far.