[ 2012-02-24 ]

China’s global domination strategy
For all the Wall Street analysts who have long
predicted China’s hard landing or the end of
China’s economic miracle, think again. China’s
economic juggernaut is not about to cool down
anytime soon. This is simply because the Chinese
are operating from a fundamentally revolutionary
blueprint.

China sees the world as a customer. And because
the customer is king, China then becomes the
kingmaker of the entire world. This is why China
has become the biggest trading partner of
virtually every region of the world. Their
strategy is working like magic. Much of the other
major powers see the world not from the stand
point of a customer, but from the lens of politics
and direct domination. Much of the other major
powers are still operating from World War 2
mentality. Not China. China is playing a
completely different ballgame. It’s not just Soft
Power, It’s what I call Soft Power Plus: customer
centric thinking.

The reality is that a significant part of the
strategic posture and architecture of the United
States seems to have been built from the lessons
of World War 2. The old guards at the Pentagon,
the CIA, State Department, FBI and other strategic
institutions are mostly products of World War 2,
the Cold War, Vietnam War or some combination
thereof. It is understandable that the U.S’s
strategic posture was necessary to defend freedom
and helped to create great prosperity which we are
still enjoying today, including me. This strategic
posture helped to win the Cold War. While much of
the world appreciates that, the modern world has
changed and the rules of the game are changing.
The geostrategic landscape is changing as new
military and economic powers are entering the
global theatre. It is true that this same
strategic architecture helped to preserve relative
global peace and built vast prosperity across the
globe through the spirit of free enterprise. But
after nearly seven decades of preserving global
peace and prosperity, analysts are becoming
increasingly convinced that America’s geostrategic
architecture needs significant refinement. It is
simply unsustainable.

During the Great Recession, systemically important
American corporations were compelled to receive a
vast infusion of government bailout money.
Prominent Wall Street experts are now calling for
some kind of system change - from a former Goldman
Sachs president to university Professors. Now even
the Financial Times is running a special series
called ‘Capitalism in Crisis’. The point is, if
there was no China, then perhaps America and the
West could afford to relax. But the Chinese are a
strong, wise and nimble competitor. Now, the whole
world is using China as some kind of benchmark. In
any project bidding game, the Chinese could just
go in, offer juicy terms and walk away with it.
China is now offering very competitive trade
terms. You just can’t ignore this. America has no
option but to either match the Chinese or beat
them.

According to the Global 2025 Report, published by
the CIA-affiliated National Intelligence Council,
by the year 2025, the threat of a nuclear war will
hang on the world every day. Many countries would
possess Nuclear weapons or the know-how to produce
them quickly in the event of profound threats to
their national security. The world would become a
dangerous place, with nuclear Armageddon closer
than ever. For example, just about five days ago,
Russia’s Chief of Defense Staff warned that Russia
will use nuclear weapons “to stave off threats” in
any possible future war with NATO.

In a world of nuclear proliferation in which many
nations will keep their finger on the nuclear
trigger, the World War 2 gun-ho mentality will be
too dangerous and ineffective. Who wants nuclear
conflagration especially when the other side also
has nukes? Rather, it is strategic diplomacy that
will prevail. The world will now have to spend
more time at the negotiation table taking into
consideration each other’s core interests. This is
what China is already doing very well. In this
case, Hillary Clinton’s Smart Power policy is a
brilliant move. However, since the U.S has been
systemically configured on the basis of the
conventional World War 2 era posture, it may take
about 25 years for the U.S to fully reconfigure
her strategic policy and posture to outfox the
Chinese.

For example, during China’s isolationist years of
the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, China and the U.S were
staunch enemies. Today, it is clear that the U.S
is perceived by some analysts to be strategically
encircling China and building regional alliances
against the communist nation just as it did
against the Soviet Union. In spite of all that,
China still treats the U.S as a customer, dealing
with her wisely and patiently as last week’s visit
by Vice President Xi proved. Because China knows
the U.S is a mega export market for China. The U.S
is….a customer. Yet, everybody understands that
China will robustly defend her core interests.
Even sometimes, when red lines are crossed, China
still responds cautiously and with restraint.
However, let the world be warned that if the
fundamental national security interests of China
are threatened in a big way, China will unleash
hell to aggressors.

Much as China is using what I call Soft Power
Plus, or customer centric thinking, it is building
a super modern army and is prepared for all global
contingencies. China is mastering strategic
technologies including space, satellites,
missiles, telecoms, aircraft, submarine warfare,
electronic warfare, stealth technology, innovative
auto manufacturing, supercomputing, laser,
biotechnology, deep sea exploration, arctic
exploration and more.

Even China knows that Soft Power Plus is not
perfect. China has been accused of ignoring
democratic values and not having conscience in its
dealings with the world, particularly in emerging
and frontier markets. Sometimes, hardliners in the
Communist Party also call for the use of
aggressive measures. For example, recently, some
communist hardliners called for sanctions to be
slapped on the Philippines for allowing its
territory to be used as a military post for
America’s new ‘Look East’ strategic military
posture. In the end, at least for now, the Chinese
choose the path of diplomacy and peace. Even in
the heat of tensions, instead of China sending a
naval destroyer to threaten the Philippines as the
U.S, Russia or Britain would have done, the
Chinese hosted Filipino President Benigno Aquino
III for talks in Beijing. Smart move.

There is a rumor making the rounds that at the
height of the Great Recession, one nation
allegedly believed to be Russia is reported to
have urged the Chinese to pull the plug on the U.S
by halting purchases of U.S Treasury Bonds or
something to that effect. The wise old Chinese
never listened to that garbage because the Chinese
fully understand that the U.S is their single
biggest export market. Again, smart move. They
also fully understand the heavy collateral hits
they would take in any possible economic meltdown
in the U.S. Now, instead of the Chinese waiting
for the EU to be caught up in embarrassing serial
defaults, they have taken pre-emptive action by
bailing out the EU and saving the Euro. After all,
the EU is now China’s biggest regional market. The
Chinese are looking at the world as one giant
market with many customers. Probably the Chinese
have figured out that they need the world more
than the world needs them. After all, it is a big
challenge to feed 1.2 billion mouths. Why would
they set fire on their market or bite the hand
that feeds them?

As I pointed out, China has become the biggest
trading partner of virtually every region of the
world. Their strategy is working like magic. Of
all the predictions made about China’s rise, the
most powerful so far is the one made by American
Nobel Laureate Robert Fogel. Writing in the
January/February 2010 edition of Foreign Policy,
Fogel predicted that China’s GDP will hit $123
trillion by the year 2040. China’s success story
is the result of sheer determination, a strong
central government, smart thinking, huge
investments in education, market reforms,
financial sector improvements and many other
factors. In spite of these solid achievements, and
even though the Chinese are trying to build a
strong domestic economy, the fundamental truth is
that China is essentially a trading nation and it
is global trade that has made China prosperous.

The Chinese understand the strategic importance of
global trade to their prosperity and they have
also learnt from the mistakes of Europeans, the
Soviet Union and the United States. The world is
their marketplace. The world is one big customer.
So China’s foreign policy has been crafted with
great wisdom. It’s been designed the old fashioned
way from the good old adage: the customer is
king.

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About Moses Asare

Moses Asare is a director and special writer for
the AFRICAN LEADER, a New York City-based media
company serving the over $50 billion U.S African
consumer market through direct subscription, email
list, event sponsorships, networking, newsstand
sales and online platforms. As the premier African
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African market, AFRICAN LEADER is available in a
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