THE COVID-19 pandemic is the game changer. Although COVID-19 pandemic started in Wuhan, China in December 2019, China managed to control the spread.
China has a total of 95,689 COVID-19 cases and 4,636 deaths as of Sept 19, according to data from Worldometer. In the past 18 months, China has very few daily new cases. This is in stark comparison with the US which has a total of 42.86 million COVID-19 cases and 691,562 deaths during the same period.
Space race
While the US has an average annual growth rate of about 4.5%, China has an average of about 10% in the past 40 years. China is now ranked among countries with the highest technological expertise alongside the US, Germany, Russia, the UK, Singapore, Israel and Switzerland.
In January 2019, China’s Chang’e-4 became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. Its rover, Yutu-2, is still operating and studying lunar geology nearly two years later. China is now the only country to land successfully on the moon in the 21st century – and has done so three times.
On Friday (Sept 17), the return capsule of the Shenzhou 12 manned spaceship carrying Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo touched down safely in the Gobi Desert in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The three Chinese astronauts – the first to be sent to orbit for space station-construction – returned to Earth on Friday (Sept 17) after completing their three-month mission including two spacewalks and setting the Chinese record for the longest crewed spaceflight mission.
In a related development, China’s defence system has improved by leaps and bounds especially with its drone strike capability and guided long ranch missiles with nuclear heads to strike any target.
In November 2013, China successfully tested a stealth armed drone called the Sharp Sword. Today, China has several armed UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) models in service including the CH-3, CH-4 as well as the Wing Loong 1 and Wing Loong 2.
Biggest bully in the world
Former US President Jimmy Carter once said that the US spent 95% of its 245 years history in wars. This is true and you can verify the truth in Google.
In 2020, the US military expenditure reached an estimated US$778 bil, representing an increase of 4.4% over 2019. As the world’s largest military spender, the US accounted for 39% of total military expenditure in 2020. This was the third consecutive year of growth in the US military spending.
The US controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide and spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined. China does not have any military base outside China.
China will soon deliver the final blow. The Chinese yuan will soon replace the US dollar as the world’s currency. That would give China more control over its economy. It is inevitable that China’s economic might will only grow stronger in the new future.
China’s economic achievements
While the US is still the world’s largest economy by virtue of gross domestic product (GDP) with US$20.81 tril followed by China with US$15.22 tril, China is now the No. 1 trading nation in the world if all its imports and exports were to be totalled up.
On the overall, the US has run a trade deficit with China over the past decade which amounted to more than US$2.3 tril. At US$3.24 tril in July, China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves in the world.
China now has the largest new car market in the entire world. The country now produces more than twice as many automobiles as the US does. After being bailed out by US taxpayers, General Motors (GM) is involved in 11 joint ventures with Chinese companies.
Not only is China today the No. 1 gold producer in the world, it now consumes more energy than the US does; the country is in aggregate the leading manufacturer of goods in the entire world and uses more cement than the rest of the world combined.
Moreover, China produces three times as much coal and 11 times as much steel than the US while at the same time produces more than 90% of the global supply of rare earth elements.
Below are some other areas which China stands out:
- The uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China.
- 85% of all artificial Christmas trees the world over are made in China.
- The new World Trade Center tower in New York is going to include glass imported from China.
- China is now the No. 1 producer of wind and solar power on the entire globe.
- China is now the No. 1 supplier of components that are critical to the operation of any national defence system.
- In terms of published scientific research articles, China is expected to become the No. 1 in the world soon. – Sept 19, 2021
