Gnats From the Far-Off “Western Ocean”

June 6, 2020 10:09 AM

As China comes into greater conflict with the West, and the United States in particular, now is a good time to consider the long arc of this relationship. In the West, Chinese history is commonly framed as having begun with the first Opium War, giving the impression that European powers always had the upper hand. But from the first direct contact between East and West—the arrival of the Portuguese in south China in the early 16th century—the Chinese were dominant. When China Met the West by Michael Schuman, from his forthcoming book Superpower Interrupted
posted by chavenet (3 comments total)

Thanks! This is just what I was looking for today.
posted by sneebler at 11:44 AM on June 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like Yuen Yuen Ang's take on things. As a woman in the field. She did some great work on comparative ideologies in the time of Covid.
posted by Mrs Potato at 12:13 PM on June 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

fwiw, here's one view looking forward: "The Cold War with China will have very little to do with military might. It's about economic strength and technological supremacy. And the strength and effectiveness of two radically different political systems."

cf. Robert Atkinson on US-China Competition and Industrial Policy
viz. Chips and Geopolitics: "the lesson in 2020 should be that technology is inseparable from geopolitics."
posted by kliuless at 12:02 AM on June 8, 2020 [1 favorite]