China was merely another major power securing its borders. For the next fifty years, it would remain a theoretical principle, applicable only to the mighty few. With the much-celebrated end of the Cold War, surprisingly little has changed, at least for the little guy. It is all very well to bomb Saddam, but no one s going to take on Russia over Chechnya, or, as usual, the Chinese over Tibet. The goals have changed, but the rules remain the same.
Liberalization is the new mantra of the day.
We ve gone from driving out the reds, to opening up em markets. Now trade has replaced security as the reason to look away. Take out the economic references, and it is the same logic that we were using to support guys like the Shah and Pinochet in the good ol days. The corporations have remained the same, as well. Rupert Murdoch forced his publishing house Harper Collins to drop a book critical of the Chinese government.