"China's eating America's lunch in Asia" (#24; Topic F)

One of the advantages of living in the Washington DC area is the abundance of cultural events that are both world class and free of charge. Today, I was privileged to attend a seminar on "Power Shift: China and Asia's New Dynamics" at the Brookings Institution, offered to launch a book with the same title. As the book's editor, David Shambaugh, Director of China Policy Program at George Washington University, overviewed it and the seminar by saying that, when he first approached experts for contributions to this volume, many commented that the subject matter might be rephrased as "China's eating America's lunch in Asia." Hearing this, I thought to myself: What is wrong with that? Isn't it axiomatic that, China, with Asia as her home, takes her lunch there? Conversely, why is USA, which is domiciled in North America, has her lunch in Asia? At the end of the first panel discussion, I rose to suggest that the panel failed to discuss the psychological dimension -- countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia have been humiliated over the last century and half; it is time that they stand up and declare: We are second to none; I also stated that Confucian thought is indeed second to none. Professor Jonathan Pollack, of Naval War College, a panelist, concurred by saying that the case under discussion is not China's rising, but China's re-rising. Well said, professor.
Posted at 9:59 pm, Thursday, January 12, 2006