Deng Xiaoping has said he does not care whether the cat is white or black so long as it catches mice. But the United States and the rest of the world seem intent on providing the cheese to help the Communists catch the mice on their terms. American policy-makers and analysts are constantly reminding us that China will soon have the largest economy in the world. What seems to be lacking in this discussion is the implication of an economic giant turning into a military and political giant. This is already happening in China, where nobody talks seriously anymore about building the socialist paradise.
Chinese nationalism grows more fervent every day.
Any leader who ignores the deep-rooted Chinese nationalism does so at his or her own peril and at his or her nation's peril. In my view, the United States is still hoping that China's hybrid form of capitalism will lead to democracy. More likely it will lead to the creation of a new form of a totalitarian, supernationalistic military state. Some people argue for a policy of containment in the old Cold War sense, but I find that outmoded and unthinkable. Recent U.S. administrations seem to favor an ad hoc policy of engagement, which strikes me as little more than mercantilism.