Talk Xi Jinping

[CityHermit!]

Xi Jinping is currently the president of China, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. To have one position is already very influential, let alone to have all three. More recently he has been preparing for the possibility of serving as president beyond the 2 term limit normally followed, and has also inserted his unique philosophy into the Chinese constitution thereby further ensuring his legacy and cementing this already expansive influence. Though the world may be drawn to the like of Trump and Putin in current events, Xi has the potential to remain in power longer than these two assuming they abide by term limits in their respective countries, and therefore he will be a persona to consider at least during the 2020s if not later.

 

As the son of Xi Zhongxun, a founding Chinese communist revolutionary, he holds the status of a "princeling". He has a varied background of activity ranging from physical labor during the Cultural Revolution to Chemical Engineering as per his educational background. In his work leading up to his rise he has been to a number of provinces and probably has a solid understanding of the modern Chinese nation from firsthand view. At a time when he was more obscure he also visited the US and stayed with an American family in Iowa, thereby having some experience viewing the US firsthand as well. His current position is also bolstered by a level of charisma that may almost be described as a cult of personality, at least in as far as such a condition cannot be challenged publicly by Chinese citizens without reprisal. Still, he is a force to be reckoned with in Chinese politics.

 

Given the voluminous nature of the Talk Trump thread I only thought it would be appropriate to have a thread for Xi as well. I would add plenty more myself even if no one else does given more time and research. Having a personal interest in geopolitics and international relations, as well as Taoism and Chinese history and culture this is a topic I would be more than interested to indulge in.

[Marblehead]

Well, I must admit that he has been doing an excellent job for China, its economy, and most of the Chinese people.

 

I am wary of his expansion of his military forces but I can understand why he is doing it.

 

I think that he and Trump are trying but there are many complications to work through no matter what they decide to do.

 

[CityHermit!]

Just now, Marblehead said:

Well, I must admit that he has been doing an excellent job for China, its economy, and most of the Chinese people.

 

I am wary of his expansion of his military forces but I can understand why he is doing it.

 

I think that he and Trump are trying but there are many complications to work through no matter what they decide to do.

 

He is definitely cracking down on long entrenched corruption, though whether it is out of altruism or political rivalry is another question. The thing is, despite his overwhelming concentration of power he does indeed have rivals that are not that easy to deal with. I believe one such faction would be the Jiang Zemin one, the same guy who started the crackdown on the Qigong movement. I'm not for autocrats but I would be happy if he dealt with that group in an appropriate manner. In any case, to get to where is he is now he is probably not someone to be underestimated. I say that last part more for our sake.

 

The military expansion, particularly regarding the South China Sea, is a complicated matter. One obvious point is regarding Taiwan. Another thing is that policy towards the South China Sea is also influenced by hawks in the PLA. I had read that back during Deng Xiaoping's time, or if I am mistaken then perhaps his successor, that the Chinese Communist Party were able to better secure loyalty from the PLA against the backlash from Tianenmen on the condition that the policy towards the South China Sea was a hawkish one. Events in the following years says as much.

 

I do worry that Trump may not be wary of the likes of Xi or that he may be unprepared to deal with China long term. The one thing I do appreciate in Trump's policy is a strong one regarding China, though there is a little story behind that too. It's the one thing that makes me patient with him. But again, Xi will likely be in the same position after Trump is out office so long term planning is key.

 

The trade war and tariffs thing, one more reason why Chinese politics is relevant for Westerners as well.

[Marblehead]

3 minutes ago, CityHermit! said:

The trade war and tariffs thing, one more reason why Chinese politics is relevant for Westerners as well.

I think this is more of an attempt by the two to get a better understanding of the other's intentions.  Tit for Tat.  I just hope they don't take it too far so that it becomes destructive.

 

[CityHermit!]

Just now, Marblehead said:

I think this is more of an attempt by the two to get a better understanding of the other's intentions.  Tit for Tat.  I just hope they don't take it too far so that it becomes destructive.

 

Of course. But Trump did initiate it and I am curious as to why and what for. I do have speculations but they are premature. I don't think it will get out of hand, at least not for the US. When the SSE crashed a few years ago I had made some comments about it as such before it happened at another venue. China still has yet to recover from that and their economic growth is slowing, plus real estate issues and other things. The US can afford to take some losses in the mean time so long as China does, which seems to be the case so far. Classic attrition, but they have far more mouths to feed and fewer international allies coordinated and ready for the consequences.

[Marblehead]

I have reached the limit of my immediate knowledge so there is little else I can say.

 

I have no idea what the trade deficit is between China and the USA but Trump might have been hitting at that if there is anything significant.  After all, Trump hit Canada on that and they are our most trust-worthy ally.

 

[CityHermit!]

15 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

I have reached the limit of my immediate knowledge so there is little else I can say.

 

I have no idea what the trade deficit is between China and the USA but Trump might have been hitting at that if there is anything significant.  After all, Trump hit Canada on that and they are our most trust-worthy ally.

 

Not to mention the portion of US national debt that China holds. The disagreements with Canada and Europe are one thing, and hopefully that smooths over, but circumstances are a little different with allies in Asia. Most of them can't really defy the US in the way the Western ones can, not that they should be deprived of doing so, regarding the economic issues. Militarily, even though they're mostly outmatched by China, they're doing better in coordinating things in a way that makes it difficult for China to make sudden moves. Vietnam, India, and Myanmar are some examples that come to mind.

[CityHermit!]

While the DJI has had some losses, SSE just took it's biggest one day hit since last February or so. It would be interesting to see what happens in coming days or weeks.

Edited June 20, 2018 by CityHermit!
typos

[dawei]

On 6/18/2018 at 7:30 PM, Marblehead said:

I have reached the limit of my immediate knowledge so there is little else I can say.

 

I have no idea what the trade deficit is between China and the USA but Trump might have been hitting at that if there is anything significant.  After all, Trump hit Canada on that and they are our most trust-worthy ally.

 

 

While we are a trade surplus with Canada and trade deficient with China they are related because Trump is also focusing on the tax/tariff issue.  i just heard somewhere that German car companies were actually espousing the Trump idea of no tariffs !

 

But China is a tough read to the west for simple reasons like we make plans for 5 years out and they make plans for 50 years out.   And yet their form of communism is predictable and their goals are not far-fetched in the way ours are.   Their form of progress has a lot longer time to go than ours but they are usually playing the long game.  

[CityHermit!]

Looks like both DJI and SSE taking overall losses, percentage wise I think it's a bit more for SSE. Xi didn't want to budge at all regarding South China Sea when Mattis visited. China didn't join in RIMPAC either, I may have read elsewhere that there were other times they didn't also. I'll have to double check.

[CityHermit!]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 1:40 PM, dawei said:

 

While we are a trade surplus with Canada and trade deficient with China they are related because Trump is also focusing on the tax/tariff issue.  i just heard somewhere that German car companies were actually espousing the Trump idea of no tariffs !

 

But China is a tough read to the west for simple reasons like we make plans for 5 years out and they make plans for 50 years out.   And yet their form of communism is predictable and their goals are not far-fetched in the way ours are.   Their form of progress has a lot longer time to go than ours but they are usually playing the long game.  

Let's see how it all goes with Africa.

[CityHermit!]

China is not a hard read to me by the way. When you're all done with your circle jerk maybe you could have an easier time reading them too. I'm not waiting on anyone and I do fine.

[dawei]

On 7/8/2018 at 3:35 AM, CityHermit! said:

China is not a hard read to me by the way. When you're all done with your circle jerk maybe you could have an easier time reading them too. I'm not waiting on anyone and I do fine.

 

That's the chinese way

[CityHermit!]

Just now, dawei said:

 

That's the chinese way

Well thanks for not taking to heart what might have been offensive for some and making humor out of it instead. If I bust anyone's balls its not personal.

[dawei]

my chinese wife bust enough of my balls and it is rather personal on a daily basis...  She extols the work of Mao, D.Xiaoping and X.Jinping.

 

I wish she would join this conversation for a chinese point of view. 

 

For now, my 15 years of travel to china will have to do a circle jerk on the topic

 

[CityHermit!]

1 minute ago, dawei said:

my chinese wife bust enough of my balls and it is rather personal on a daily basis...  She extols the work of Mao, D.Xiaoping and X.Jinping.

 

I wish she would join this conversation for a chinese point of view. 

 

For now, my 15 years of travel to china will have to do a circle jerk on the topic

 

 

I am totally open to hearing views from a Chinese perspective. All in all I want better ties in the future with/for everyone, and I think allowing all sides their input is part of the process. It's hard to ignore historical and social forces though. As China and the US continue in their directions there's no way for them not to meet in some way at some point and it's a question of how that will be. I just want to try for the best without ignoring legitimate grievances as it is my impression that either side might ignore such grievances for the sake of profitability and/or complacency.

[dawei]

47 minutes ago, CityHermit! said:

 

I am totally open to hearing views from a Chinese perspective. All in all I want better ties in the future with/for everyone, and I think allowing all sides their input is part of the process. It's hard to ignore historical and social forces though. As China and the US continue in their directions there's no way for them not to meet in some way at some point and it's a question of how that will be. I just want to try for the best without ignoring legitimate grievances as it is my impression that either side might ignore such grievances for the sake of profitability and/or complacency.

 

Your comment in the other thread about how the communist block is connected is on point.  

 

The US is still very far from understanding how this works or how to deal with it.  JMO.

[CityHermit!]

25 minutes ago, dawei said:

 

Your comment in the other thread about how the communist block is connected is on point.  

 

The US is still very far from understanding how this works or how to deal with it.  JMO.

I agree for the most part.

[CityHermit!]

That is to say, while I think many Americans don't have that understanding I think that some who emigrated from countries with such regimes and having lived under it might have something to offer to the overall perspective. And it's just a shame how many Americans in general have a limited understanding of geography and history.

[Marblehead]

Geography and history are always linked.  You can't understand the history if you don't understand the geography.

 

 

Edited July 9, 2018 by Marblehead

[CityHermit!]

Looks like SSE closes at a loss ending at 2,777.77 on 7-11. DJI has been up a little.

[CityHermit!]

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2155264/dont-mention-trade-war-what-china-doesnt-want-people-know-its

 

"“When you report a fall in the stock market index or a weakening in the yuan’s exchange rate, you can’t use ‘trade war’ in your headline,” one source with an official Chinese media outlet, who declined to be named, said."

 

"China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday night issued a statement defending itself, arguing that its trade surplus with the US was not its fault and denying that it had stolen technology from the US or that it had forced foreign companies to transfer their technology."

 

You don't say?