Jake's ViewWhy China is enslaving itself to the United States
A US poll named China the world's strongest economy. But without reforms its rise is an illusion
Asked in the Pew [Research Centre] survey, "Which is the leading economic power, the US, China, Japan, or the European Union?", 41 per cent of American respondents said China is the world's most powerful economy. Just 40 per cent named the US.
The United States is the home of astonishing poll results, of course. A large number of Americans are likely to agree at any time that the moon is made of blue cheese. They'll bomb it if you call it a question of national defence.
However, the common belief China now has the larger economy, which Tom Holland noted in his Monitor column yesterday, is more than just woeful ignorance. As Tom said, it is symptomatic of the xenophobia American politicians routinely awaken at election time - our problem is China. Let's get China.
Let's get real. China is where the US keeps its modern equivalent of slave pens. Tens of millions of Chinese labourers work in drudgery at very low rates of pay to supply American consumers with an abundance of goods at ultra-low prices.
The chart shows just how low. Over the past 15 years the consumer price index, excluding durables, has risen by 52 per cent in the US, while prices of durable goods have fallen by 14 per cent. This is China's doing.