The Myth Of China Preparing For War | Journalist Ben Norton

Neocons try with all their might to conjure up the spectre of an aggressive, expansionist China. They are risking to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by fuelling the security dilemma. But the truth is, China does not want a war. Neither does Taiwan, Japan, or ASEAN. No body in the region wants to see a violent clash happen—except for the USA. Transforming Taiwan into a Ukraine 2.0 is the dram of the neocons and the job of the Collective EAST has to be to prevent this from happening. The conflict over Taiwan is 75 years old, highly complex, and it can be resolved peacefully. It doesn't even have to "solved" at all. The status quo is peaceful and prosperous for the people in Taiwan and the people in mainland China. The only thing that is needed is a new (implicit) agreement on how to continue living with the existing differences. Ben Norton talks about his discussions with Chinese scholars and people on the street in Beijing. We also discuss China's One Belt One Road initiative and the Chinese model of non-intrusive Foreign Aid.

[RechtmanDon]

I'm a US citizen currently residing in Shenzhen. I would love to have an opportunity to speak with a group of Taiwanese students to share with them my awareness of the US history of deception and international coercion and propaganda leading up to its misrepresenting of mainland China. I can explain to them with documentation the truths about Xinjiang, Tibet, and the South China Sea. I fully believe that when they understand this big picture, they'll not only be accepting of the reunification of Taiwan with Beijing, but will actually embrace it.

[zeissiez]

Comparison 1:
* AVERAGE number of bombs dropped by America EVERYDAY in foreign lands since the turn of the millennium = 46
* TOTAL number of bombs dropped by China in foreign lands in the last 40 YEARS = 0

Comparison 2:
* Number of American military bases outside its territory = 750
* Number of Chinese military bases outside its territory = 1 (in Djibouti for UN mission)

Comparison 3:
* Distance from Chinese military base to America = 10, 000 km
* Distance from American military base to China = 0 km (Taiwan is within China)

Comparison 4:
* In 2020, after pulling out of a 20-year occupation in Afghanistan, America confiscated Afghanistan’s 7 Billion dollar foreign reserves, leaving Afghanistan in desperate short of basic necessities.
* In the autumn of 2020, China poured in humanitarian aids to Afghanistan to help Afghans weather the coming winter.

Comparison 5:
* On 3 Jan 2020, General Qasem Soleimani of Iran, was killed in a drone strike by America, while heading to Baghdad in order to engage in diplomatic discussions aimed to reduce hostility between Iran and Saudi.
* On 10th Mar 2023, brokered by China, long time rivals Saudi and Iran reestablished diplomatic ties, marking a new beginning of the two biggest Shia and Sunni countries, bringing peace to the Muslim World in the Middle East.

Comparison 6:
* Laos holds a world record: the most bombed country in the world. 7.7 million tons of explosives were dropped in Laos, by more than 580, 000 air missions by the US Airforce on Laos between 1964 and 1973 during the Vietnam War. That’s more than three times the amount of bombs dropped in all theaters of World War II. There are still 80 million bomblets that never went off remain live, buried over 35% of land area of Laos. A staggering 270 million bomblets were dropped in a country with a population of 2.5 million, to carpet a huge buffer zone to prevent weaponries to reach Vietnam. By 1975, 1/10th of Laos population was killed, 1/5th of the population wounded.
* Today Laos has a high speed rail system more advanced than American’s, built by China after removing the unexploded bomblets along the way.
>> Laos, Syria, Afghanistan, where America destroyed, China goes to build.

>>> “China threat” is real. China brings immense embarrassment to the US ruling class.

[UnrecycleRubdish]

Ben Norton is one of the few YouTube commentators I can tolerate listening to. He speaks with personal experience if not facts and data. He puts his skin in the game living in the countries he is talking about. And he doesn't rely on his media output to make a living as he has an academic career outside of media. Good on you, Ben.

[yu-jdjg]

China does not want War but is not afraid of War if invaded

[simonyu]

Ben Norton is remarkable. Objective and very good commentary.

[caribbeanchild]

Only America wants war. It's business for them. No war means no work in the arms industry. That's a headache for nearly every senator.

[cheungchingtong]

I shall put one example to let people know how the CPC has won some many Mainlanders' hearts in China since Ben here bring up the health care topic.
We all know the pharmaceutical industry is held by mostly the Americans, the Aussies and Europeans, buying medical productions is not only expensive for the people developed countries, but much more for the people in global south due to the purchasing power and incomes. So because of the huge market here in China, the government holds the leverage to bargain the prices of medicines, if one company wants to get their productions into the Chinese health care system, they must offer a very decent discount, it doesn't matter if it is a Chinese company or foreign one, you can sell medicines in China, but without much more affordable prices, you will not enter the system, and if so, the sale would not be pretty, so companies must step down on their prices anyway. And the whole bargain process would be lived online for people to watch, so people could know the medicines they might buy would be way cheaper than before. And this is just one little example of doing things for the people, but not the capitalists.

[Dashydingo]

Ben Norton is a brilliant researcher who compiles extraordinarily detailed information. I believe he’s the best geopolitical commentator who has ever ventured near a microphone

[derekfoust]

The “debt-trap” theory is concocted by Brahma Chellaney, an Indian geopolitical strategist. The “debt-trap” theory is concocted by Indians, and popularized by Americans. They concoct this theory to demonize China, Chinese and BRI projects/loans. India, US, along with EU, fear losing their control over other countries which may result from these projects. Such fears are based on their selfish and geopolitical interests.
However, people from all over the world, especially from developing countries have acknowledged the needs and the actual benefits of these projects/loans. They know from their first-hand experience that there is no debt-trap. Academics and researchers have reviewed these projects, and have debunked the debt-trap theory.

[walterchin]

I love your channel Ben. You tell it like it is about China, US and world geopolitics.

[hx]

Thank you for speaking the truth for humanity.

[F_Liu]

Great discussion, Ben does first class journalism, thank you so much!

[yudiji]

The narrative about China's high-speed rail has once again been distorted from what was originally an undisputed public fact: prior to 2008, China's Ministry of Railways had spent billions of dollars each to buy out all the technology and patents of the high-speed rail programs of Japan's Kawasaki and Germany's Siemens, which had been discarded in the two countries' domestic competition programs in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. In 2008-10, China had a part of Kawasaki technology HSR, which was later replaced by Siemens HSR, and that's all. A few years later China developed the later generations of brand new domestic HSR through separate studies

[ricotheman]

I have to correct you for one thing. China never copied any high speed rail technology from Japan. China got them from Germany and France.

[BosMass]

China’s economic rise over the decades has been due to their not having an exorbitant military budget. If they were seeking military dominance over the world their budget would be more in line with the US. They would not have the success they’ve had if they were flushing money down the toilet on their MIC. They are content to let the US spend its way to oblivion. I respect their history and their view of history. The US view of history is to only analyze the past 80 to 200 years.

[LW]

Thanks for the great discussion Ben and Pascal

[davidcald]

China dont want a war but America do .❤

[JorgePetraglia]

China is and has been very busy developing its economy, which in turn solves problems, like poverty and health care, while the West (USA and EU) are busy trying to force wars with half of he world.
The so called Americans have been intervening in many countries affairs for a long time, and realized that without a huge military capacity they can not keep its boot on the ground.

It is not that China doesn't have a very well developed military apparatus, they know that the best defense is to be ready for any event that can be forced against them. In that particular issue they have a lot of experience from the past.

A war has to be avoided at all cost and China knowing it, is making alliances with everybody who needs help with their own infrastructure, which in turn creates an isolation of the warmongers making a huge profit out of their weapons.

At some point in history the old colonial powers ( namely the USA and the EU) will have to come to the table recognizing that China's way is beneficial to all parties, the old colonial powers included.
The old Taiwanese political generation is disappearing as much as the old Cubans in Miami, stack on a time in history that never worked.
The new generations will change that simply because it is common sense, provided that those military criminals don't destroy the world
Greetings from Toronto.

[lindagonzalez]

China doesn’t want war but the US does so China must prepare and be ready !

[charlesyang]

Debt trap as so-claimed frequently by Westerners left with debt-trapper countries with actual railroads, highways, harbors, hospitals, schools, electrical or hydro power plants, industrial parks and many others that China self-owned investment is also at risk other than low-interest loan offered by China. I would be more than happy to owe China money to have those infrastructure built in my country because infrastructure is the basis for economy development and prosperity.