Advice for the emerging Chinese empire

It is in decline now and will eventually go the way of all empires before it: cease to be powerful and domineering and subsequently exist in complete or near irrelevance. The signs of this happening are everywhere and those of us who have or hope to live for forty more years on this earth will […]

It is in decline now and will eventually go the way of all empires before it: cease to be powerful and domineering and subsequently exist in complete or near irrelevance. The signs of this happening are everywhere and those of us who have or hope to live for forty more years on this earth will witness this turn of event in world history take place in our life time. This is not a curse but a statement of the reality unfolding before our very eyes. What is more, experience teaches us that nothing lasts forever. The British had once boasted that the sun will never set on their own empire. But where is it today?
Like other empires before her which suffered a decline and fall, the American empire will fall for the following sins against God and crimes against humanity: excessive military adventurism abroad leading to declining domestic economic fortunes;, excessive greed on the part of her political and business elites leading to the exploitation of weaker countries and peoples and leading to poverty and deprivation of others and in turn leading to a feeling of unfairness and injustice and giving rise to violence and strife in much part of the deprived and exploited world.
The USA is also suffering from hubris (arrogance) which seems to be the number one sin of all empires. At the height of their power, empires develop the feeling that they have become so powerful that they can play God in the lives of other peoples on earth. They impose their values on others and insist that their way of life is superior to all others and anyone who dares to be different does so at heavy risk. Perhaps, one of the most repugnant of American values which it has sought to push down the throat of others is homosexuality and other forms of liberal attitude to sex. In defiance of both God and man, the USA leaders have championed this very unpopular crusade in the name of respecting the human rights of those who have a different sexual orientation. Even when they have met with universal resistance, that country’s leaders have not cared to backtrack and let the unwilling just be. They want everyone to toe the line or risk severe sanctions. That is one clear sign of a civilization that is doomed to fall: its leaders seek to defy even God.
 And when the USA goes down, in her place China will take over. Given the sour deal that many nations on earth got or are getting in the hands of the USA, I think it is quite in order to give some pieces of advice to the ruling class in China who will think and plan and guide the emergence of that behemoth country as the most powerful the world over economically, militarily and diplomatically so that we will have a more peaceful world where all will enjoy peace, progress and prosperity.
For Chinese dominance to endure and not be to the injury of anyone, its leaders must first realize that power is given by God and whoever is privileged to get it must use it responsibly, justly and fairly. In the so-called American century, American leaders have not used the country’s power to protect the weak but to perpetuate injustice against those who are not powerful. In my piece last week I mentioned some countries that have seen hell in the hands of the USA just because they have chosen to pursue a different path to development and refused to bow to the dictates of the Evil Empire.
The number one piece of advice for China is that it must not seek to impose its values on others as the USA and its Western allies have been doing, building resentment for themselves all over the world. The terrorist scourge the world is contending with today arose partly from a built up feeling of frustration with injustice and unfairness.
China should develop a philosophy of dealing with people on the bases of such universal principles like fairness, honesty, justice and respect for their feelings. A nation can become great without necessarily having to trample on those principles in its relationship with others. And with particular regard for fairness, I wish to stress fair trade. China must do away with the present world economic system whereby the powerful fix the prices of primary commodities as well as those of manufactured goods. This unfair exercise of power terribly short-changes the weak nations of the world. It is what has entrenched permanent poverty in the so-called Third World nations. China should practice the philosophy of co-prosperity.
The stage is usually set for violence when one country becomes an imperial power, exploiting and appropriating other people’s resources, accumulating huge foreign reserves and boasting of huge trade surpluses while others are reduced to begging for grants, loans and other forms of economic aid. All members of the human family can become rich and prosperous without the smartest suffering any particular injuries. It is unwise and ungodly that today, citizens of some countries buy what they don’t need while those of others cannot afford some basic necessities of life.
The American empire has perfected the art of double standards. It protects one dictator who is willing to protect American interest and moves brutally against another it deems antagonistic to its interest. A nation made preeminent must develop a strong moral voice. This is what will give it the authority and influence to steer the world for good. Because America uses naked force because it lacks moral authority, our world is so full of violence. The Chinese should seek to be different by having a consistent moral approach to issues.
And for China to be different, it should begin to resolve all her land disputes with nearly all her neighbours in Asia.  China is beginning her climb to power on a very bad note by having claims to all strategic territories in her borders with her neighbours. Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, Taiwan, etc have one complaint or another against China over some territory. This does not give some of us comfort that China will be any different from the American empire or any other empire in world history.
We Christians believe that very soon the Messiah will come to usher in world peace, progress and prosperity. That is why one is pleading here that China should set the stage for the de-escalation or total elimination of violence from our world. The American century has been defined by too much violence. Let the Chinese century be noted for universal peace for without peace there can be no progress.