1,113 Quotes About China

In his book Oligarchy, American political scientist Jeffrey Winters provides a stunning illustration of just how dire US inequality has become: the average wealth of the richest one hundred American households relative to that of the bottom 90 percent approximates the wealth disparity between a Roman senator and a slave at the height of the Roman Empire.

Should America’s primary goal be to improve the livelihood of its 330 million citizens or to preserve its primacy in the international system? If there are contradictions between the goals of preserving primacy and improving well-being, which should take priority?

While China projects an image of being a stable and predictable member of the global multilateral order, America, under Trump, is increasingly perceived as a chaotic and unpredictable actor.

In the Western mind, any undemocratic political system that deprives citizens the ability to choose or remove a leader is by definition evil.

... while Chinese leaders want to rejuvenate Chinese civilization, they have no missionary impulse to take over the world and make everyone Chinese. China’s role and influence in the world will certainly grow along with the size of its economy. Yet, it will not use its influence to change the ideologies or political practices of other societies.

Most Americans are unaware that the average income of the bottom 50 percent of their population has declined over a thirty-year period.

Two thousand years of Chinese history have created a strategic culture that advises against fighting unnecessary wars in distant places. The likelihood therefore is that, while China’s strategic weight and influence in the world will grow significantly, it will not behave as an aggressive and belligerent military power.

... despite its openness, America has its own sacred cows. One such sacred cow is that America is number one and will be number one forever

... in the case for China, it should attract American, and Western, investments out of strategic necessity. The strategic reason for doing so is to create a major stabilizer in China’s relations with America and with the Western world.