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Q: Why China would never become a superpower?
Here my 2 cents:
zero soft power. Just buying consent through scholarships is in my view not enough. A country needs "charisma"...but all i think relies in the fact that the country never get rid of his Qing Dynasty xenophobia.
A country that divides the world between us and them, that "deports" "foreigners', a country which grants you a green card according to how much money you invest in it and still after 15 years treats you like a " the laowai guest" (even if you speak the language, u got married and u tried to make this place ur home) a country which has a pathetic nationalist (if not fascist) educational system, a country which is based mostly on guanxi is a country that will never develop and is digging its own grave.... Let alone become a superpower...
a time bomb
a developed country then. Germany is famous for cars, technology. Italy for luxury brands (cars, motorcycle, fashion etc etc) design and so on. For what is famous china?what contributions made china since its opening?
Scandinavian:
it's pretty much banned all over the country, of course not enforced, but still. fireworks will not be the legacy
this is more of a rant than a question really.
By 15th century standards, China is a pretty strong power.
For the education system, yes, it's a tragedy going on since long and won't stop overnight. I would mention the looming problems of disaster-level of pollution and the population's age pyramid. As for Chinese's contribution, well, they were turned into the consumer product world's factory, with the combined will of Western corporations and an eager CCP. They contributed making the top 1% rich even richer, world-wide. But hey, we can change our shoes, our clothes and our electronics on a year round basis. Aren't you happy yet 
For deporting foreigners, hum, did you look at Europe lastly ? Or things like the Nauru detention center ? Sad, very sad, it's not because others do it that one should do it too, but honestly, blaming Chinese gov. on that one, I feel a bit of hypocrisy when doing it myself.
Scandinavian:
yeah, you can easily be deported from my home country, even if you're a little kid
China is doing every thing bit by bit to buy the world. They've bought U.S Real~estate and EU & British companies and Automobile companies.
DrMonkey:
Who sold them what they bought ? I didn't see any Chinese companies or Chinese gov. pointing guns to get stuffs. They get what they can get, the same philosophy as the Europeans powers and Japan back then, when they split China into chunks : it was "all there for the offering", no serious opposition, so they did it, never mind the harm to others (ie. the Chinese population back then)
China will NEVER truly be an accepted super power (leader of the world) because:
Their innovation is horrible due to the education.
Their foreign policy is ridiculous.
Their allies are extremely unstable and seem to have no real loyalty to China (more out of necessity like sharing borders).
They have no ideals or morals to share or spread around the world other than Sun Tzu's Art of War and maybe a little of bit of Confucian Philosophy (did you know Confucius told his followers that their children and wives should be beaten every few days to stop them from making outrageous demands and expectations?)
And the biggest reason is because China is still behind (just landed on the moon). You need to walk ahead of the pack to lead, not behind. If they fix these things, they have a chance.
jetfire9000:
nothing wrong with beating a little brat every now and then. You can't let them going around thinking they are a little Huang Di. That may be the fad in modern China with the one child policy, but a long time ago it sure wouldn't suffice ;)
Stopped reading at the first sentence... ZERO soft power?
The Chinese government is so rich now that they're granting out scholarships with FREE tuition, room and board as well as living subsidy to students around the world to come to China for a FREE MASTERS DEGREE. I have been an A - B student all my life in the U.S. and have never qualified for any scholarships.All I can tell you is that lots of institutions in China are bringing kids from all around the world to study in China and learn Chinese for an average of 2-4 years.
This may not be too special for students from socialized countries (although a few of them come just for the curiosity and attraction of China) but for DEBT RIDDEN U.S. students, a free Master's in China is pretty special and in a struggling economy that is only adding Walmart jobs and Mc Donalds jobs, living in China for a few years off somebody else's pocket book doesn't sound bad.
By the way.. recently China's richest man purchased a plot of land which is gonna' be China's Hollywood... They will also be getting top acting talents from the West to help jumpstart the process. While many everyday Chinese forum users have lamented China's lack of ability to make an American style Hollywood propaganda blockbuster (everything coming out of Hollywood is full of it) they won't have much to be bothered about much longer.
Guanxi is still in effect but the scale of its importance has taken a hit with the new Chairman of the CCP.
DrMonkey:
Yup, China got soft power where they really need it, ie. Africa and its mineral resources :p
jetfire9000:
You gotta' admit they really outsmarted us (America) over there.
Seriously though! There are tricklings of influence outside of Africa. China has an amazing cultural legacy. Their advertisements do a decent job in tricking foreigners to come here. Unfortunately the bill stops right there, when we come here, only to wonder where those crystal clear rivers and Qing Dynasty type clothed people from the commercials went. but yeath... Self promoting will only reap minimal gains until cities get cleaner, people get wiser, and tourist sites get more authentic (not the money traps that most are)nicholasba:
yeah Chinese government is very rich, and got plenty of dollars which need to be invested before they become less worth than toilette paper...
beijinger333:
Bro, you're kidding yourself if you think a Master's degree from China is worth much, especially as an American. I'm not even going to get into the shortcomings of a typical university in China. You are totally ignoring the opportunity cost. People who wanna make it happen, will. And that doesn't mean working at a fast food joint.
to be honest, a chinese SuperMan would just look ridiculous ~ 
jetfire9000:
Haha that'd be great! I wouldn't mind paying the souped-up charge for a 3D movie for once 
Ever see the South Park episode "super friends?" They could just use Lao Zi as their super hero.
diverdude1:
yeah,,, that South Park skit is totally funny,,, I'm trying to remember his (LZ) super-power? Lightning bolts out of his staff? can't remember....
I find that people's ideas about China becoming the next super power are all over the place. There are plenty of people outside of China (who are not too familiar with the inner workings of China) who think its certain Others like most on this forum who have the China experience think its impossible. I'm somewhere in the middle. If China can continue to reform in particular the education system and some other things that are too tightly controlled by the Party then they have a chance.
nicholasba:
im here since 1999, and honestly I do not think anymore that china will last longer than an additional 10 years. Its economy is a bubble and still relies on the export. People here try to make money by copying, even each other or purchasing foreigner "experts" but nothing comes from them... and again, the country is deep inside xenophobic and "han"centric....
pbrown22:
Not sure what you mean when you say China will not last more than 10 years. You mean the CCP? Or China's economic progress will cease then? Or sth else?
I think no doubt China still has a long road ahead. In some sense economically China can continue to develop I think but people's values which are mostly influenced by the environment the CCP made is what will ultimately determine if China can make the next step.
Visco8:
The Chinese Govt. only pay 'lip service' to changing their Educ. Syst. cos if it became more 'Westernised' i.e. more critical/open thinking & logical analysis....there would be too many students/people asking pertinent questions like what the Govt is doing with their money for example.
Why are you spending trillions on space program when the infrastructure is such shit, e.g. Health, Welfare, Educ, Drainage, Pollution etc etc.??
NO it will never happen here, the powers that be want to hold onto that power desperately & unquestioned.
The staus quo will remain here & thats another reason it will NEVER become a superpower!
"A country that divides the world between us and them, that "deports" "foreigners', a country which grants you a green card according to how much money you invest in it and still after 15 years treats you like a " the laowai guest"
Uh, you don't think western countries do this? Money is a legal backdoor to almost EVERY western nation. They have investor immigrant programs in the US, Canada, European nations, Australia..etc...
China will never be a superpower however because it doesn't offer hope, innovation or inspiration. When the US was on the rise people flocked to it and got rich. In China, people get rich and flee.
There is nothing to stop China from becoming a superpower. But it will take time.
I think the US has 10 or 11 super carriers, with another 2 under construction. China has one normal sized carrier and an unknown amount under construction.
Such ships take a long time to construct and equip.
I am assuming of course the OP is referring to becoming a military superpower.
Nessquick:
no, even military superpower is not gonna to happen here, even in the wildest Chinese dreams. Just , look around, and you will know the reason.
Scandinavian:
China might be buying/building military hardware. But they don't know how to use it. Here I am not thinking about the recent near miss with a US ship, but the fact that they don't have any friends to do big drills with, like e.g. Nato does. And.... all it is doing is saying "If the US has it we want it too"
ScotsAlan:
Yup. I was going to say in my answer that China needs to find a small war in which to prove it's hardware. But I cant see that happening. Because anyone China might to have a fight with are under the defense umbrella of the US. Not a good scenario to think about. Gulp..
royceH:
How about they construct a scenario whereby they have license to correct the gender imbalance?
Knocking off a hundred odd million superfluous males will do the job of testing their military capacity nicely.
We all thought the USSR was a superpower. It did have the military might.
That changed a few decades ago. Russia still has a strong military. Period.
I think China will rival the USA one day. But not within the next 20 years (maybe). And that is because of size. China has 4 time the population and roughly the same geographical area. I have been here 7 years. I see western (primarily american) culture all along the east coast. even in the interior McDonald's, KFC, Ford, GM, Kelloges, Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, Hip hop, Christmas, Valentines Day. sometimes I feel at home. So who's culture is dominating who? Economically the west is selling everything to China. It is Western companies that financed building factories in China. China will rival the USA because the USA has less of a share of the world than it did a few decades ago. Will it surpass the USA. NO. because the people in America still have some control over the government. Rule of law is a law is a law that applies to everyone (wishfull thinking but essentially true). That is a big difference compared to how laws are looked at in China by Chinese. The Education system makes kids study 24/7 (ok
maybe 14/6) and they are still one of the lowest on the productivity index. But we should not forget the Chinese kids are innovative. It's their gov't that stifles them at the College entrance.
I think we should ask a like minded question.Why isn't India a superpower? After-all it is a democracy with English as it's second quasi national language. We might find another answer why China will not overtake the USA.
Visco8:
Donnie ~ well said. I agree & food for thought. The USA isn't just dominant economicaly/polically/military but it has exported a CULTURAL dimension eg music/movies/sports/democratic ideas etc. as well, whether you like it not they are out there.
What the f*%k have the Chinese culturally to offer the world??
Mateusz:
Thing is, Chinese students are potentially as creative and innovative as students in any other country. They just are squashed by the education system. The government is hamstringging its own population.
Effectively, China is already a superpower.
It could dump it's bonds, shares and foreign reserves and destroy the financial structure of the world in an instant.
JacobJohn:
Let them do that and they will destroy themselves. How about that power? Toxic, isn't it?
Like it or not, but China IS a superpower. If you don't think so, then your head is surely up your ass. They treat you like a 'laowai' guest after 15 years, so what? It seems that you still consider yourself an outsider / visitor, otherwise you wouldn't be on this site posting a question like this.
china will eventually be just like japan, a courteous country that has to kiss the ass of the world.
japan with no land to grow food is totally dependent on the good graces of other countries.
china with 20 percent of the population and 9 percent of the land and a demographic tail spin coming will need friends and stop being the bully, to get their currency as the world currency, other countries will have to trust them, without transparency they are doomed but if the power structure does the right thing for the good of the long term, this may happen, but history shows they usually behave selfishly, and the one child policy has made the new generation even more selfish.
4 of the 10 largest armies touch your border, and your oil production cant keep up with growth and america has slowed down the dependence on middle east oil as we bail on the tribes and sects of the middle east to let them fight in ongoing civil wars that will obstruct the oil supply for china for another generation
this was by design of course, america should have built up central and south america in my humble opinion and not factories in china but the multinationals and oligopoly political parties made their bed with china. history will determine if it was a good choice, make a country financial dependent on the world to limit the potential expansion of that country.
i never considered china or russia a real threat in the world, both have to much corruption to efficiently battle and win anything but it keeps the military industrial complex working,
i should thank china for being a bully, my general dynamics stock should do well with the military purchases from japan for the next 4 years.
i hope a superpower emerges that changes the rules a little and i think china may have a chance but im not optimistic. a good role model in the world is what germany has gained in respect and acceptance in relations with the west and east since world war 2, but sadly i dont think china is going to able to follow the example of germany, we should be so lucky.
superpower my ass
they can be wealthy and shit but they still lack the knowledge and the decency
you people should check out statistics about research papers coming from China, they are all fake and universities require them to be copied from American science journals
so no they will never be a superpower
from the language system to education, there are a lot of philosophical holdovers from imperial times that keep communication hierarchical, and knowledge is kept secret as much as possible. even among the people, there is a tendency to squirrel away good ideas for personal benefit, even when trust and cooperation would be more beneficial. it's the government's fault: they fear free thought among their own population even more than they fear foreign influence. it's why they spend more on "social maintenance" than on the military. so if you accept your role as a caricature of all that is foreign, chinese pay you handsomely to confirm their prejudices. only the government has the ability to stop epressing rational thought in china, but the CPC fears its subsequent destruction. perhaps they are right…
I think you mean. will China ever become a super power. I have new for, they already are
This site is still doing crazy things when when I type? It even leaves out complete words? Missing letters in almost every word?
