In some areas of military strength, China has surpassed America

(economist.com)

16 points | by Teever 15 hours ago ago

23 comments

  • tromp 14 hours ago
  • JumpCrisscross 14 hours ago

    "Its survey in 2024 found that China ranked top in six out of seven crucial defence-related areas: advanced aircraft engines, drones and collaborative robots, hypersonic detection and tracking, advanced robotics, autonomous systems and space-launch systems."

    China is ahead of America in space launch systems? By what measure?

    • kylehotchkiss 14 hours ago

      And aircraft engines?? I thought Comac was struggling with these.

      • fspeech 13 hours ago

        They are probably referring to military tech here like ramjet. Civilian engine metrics are dominated by operating cost factors: fuel efficiency and maintenance etc.

    • bamboozled 13 hours ago

      By none.

    • 13 hours ago
      [deleted]
    • aaron695 13 hours ago

      [dead]

  • aucisson_masque 13 hours ago

    Is China the proof that communism works ?

    I'm kidding ofc, but there is no denial that china with it's centralized planning is more than catching up with usa, they are on the edge of beating them.

    Meanwhile in the usa people are fighting about some ridiculous matters, like when trump kept saying Obama isn't born in America.

    War is coming obviously, I hope Europe can stay out of it but even then with 2 great powers there will always be répercussion, whether it's economic or social with the income of immigrants

    • sfmz 13 hours ago

      China is authoritarian and free-market (since Deng Xiaoping), also I think the key party members have scientific backgrounds whereas US politicans are mostly lawyers.

      Would the US economy persist if China stopped shipping products? -- doesn't really seem like it.

    • kmos17 11 hours ago

      China is sliding and failing, 15-20 years ago it seemed imminent that China would surpass the US, but today the US is the strongest militarily and economically by far that it’s ever been by all measures.

      Not everyone in the US is sharing in this success equally, but in pure economic terms the US is completely dominating the world stage, including being the biggest oil producer in the world, and home to the largets market cap companies.

    • MrHamburger 12 hours ago

      If Europe won't engage in the war directly, then it can base lot of economic growth on it - making weapons in factories being build today to supply Ukraine.

    • Teever 13 hours ago

      It isn't proof that communism works -- it is proof that collaborating with communism and stealing the fruits of subjugated Chinese people who don't have freedoms like democracy and property rights doesn't work.

      We must put the odious idea of trading with authoritarian nations to bed once and for all. Allowing any authoritarian nation to exist, especially one the size of China is like ignoring a festering wound and trading with one is like pouring filth on that wound.

      Every democracy is threatened by the presence of authoritarianism and it must be wiped off the face of the earth by any means necessary. To do otherwise is to ignore the problem until be becomes to great to ignore and even possibly defeat.

      We have ignored this problem and even profited of it for far too long. We owe it to every human being on the planet to provide them the opportunity to live in a liberal democracy.

      • lmz 13 hours ago

        You could also say that the US is evidence that stealing Indian lands works. Add to that the benefit of having two oceans as a buffer zone between it and the wars in Asia / Europe.

        • Teever 13 hours ago

          Nothing is perfect. But that doesn't mean that China and the threat it poses is legitimate or acceptable.

          If Europe can be freed from authoritarianism than we can and must do the same in other places.

          • lmz 12 hours ago

            "The threat it poses" to who? How is this any different from the threats other countries pose? The US not being authoritarian hasn't stopped it being a menace throughout the world. The Europeans have long been colonizers in the past. Why is China being singled out here?

      • feistypharit 13 hours ago

        I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but half of the US thinks WE should have an authoritarian government. We may soon be in a post-democracy world.

        • old-gregg 12 hours ago

          > half of the US thinks WE should have an authoritarian government.

          And each half thinks it's the other one who's voting for authoritarianism tomorrow.

          • kmos17 11 hours ago

            Which is bonkers considering there is only one side that has attempted to overturn an election and has a candidate who openly admires autocrats and genocidal dictators.

        • Teever 13 hours ago

          I agree that we should extinguish authoritarianism where ever we find it, at home and abroad.

          It is also important to recognize the link between this domestic authoritarianism and foreign. There is an incontrovertible link between the rise of American authoritarianism and Russia's attempt to invade Ukraine.

  • transcriptase 14 hours ago

    What about experience?