America's Future Update on China

Update on China's Hi-Tech Research

For years, China's best and brightest came to the U.S., where high-tech industry was more advanced. Now they are moving in the opposite direction. One of Silicon Valley's most prominent firms, Applied Materials, which is the world's biggest supplier of the equipment used to make semiconductors, solar panels and flat-panel displays, is moving its key men to its largest research lab recently built in Beijing.

China is developing a high-tech economy that competes directly with the United States. Applied Materials is betting that China will be producing two-thirds of the world's solar panels by the end of this year. Intel has opened research labs in Beijing for semiconductors and server networks, since China is the biggest market for desktop computers. China is also the world's largest auto market, and General Motors has a large and growing auto research center in Shanghai.

Xi'an, a city 600 miles southwest of Beijing, has 47 colleges churning out engineers with master's degrees who can be hired for $730 a month. New York Times, 3-18-10

Update on China's Bad Drugs

One of China's best-known investigative reporters, Wang Keqin, published a newspaper article in the China Economic Times about provincial authorities improperly storing vaccines in rooms without air-conditioning, thereby rendering them ineffective, and then administering the vaccines to children. Chen Taoan, chief spokesman of the Shanxi Province Disease Control and Prevention Center, said all hospitals in the province were required to buy vaccines at steep prices. The government put a sticker on each package of vaccine to show that it was approved.

But the stickers would not adhere to the packages in air-conditioned rooms, so in 2006 and 2007 the vaccines were routinely transferred to a warm room so the stickers would stay attached. He said, "I saw boxes and boxes of vaccines piled up high like a hill in a hot room without air-conditioning. I complained more then 30 times that these vaccines were no longer effective." If the Chinese give their own children worthless or dangerous drugs, how can we assume they will be careful about drugs exported to America? A high percentage of the ingredients used in U.S. prescription drugs now comes from China, and there is little or no inspection of how they are manufactured and stored. New York Times, 3-19-10

Update on China's Military Threats

Recent statements by Chinese military officials show that the Beijing Communist government is not peaceful after all, but is actually moving toward an aggressive, anti-U.S. posture. A new government-approved book by Senior Col. Liu Mingfu urges China to "sprint" toward becoming the world's most powerful state. This book challenges the thesis espoused by many U.S. China watchers as to the real purpose of China's rapid military growth. The book states that China and the United States are in "competition to be the leading country, a conflict over who [will] dominate the world."

Other Chinese military officials have called for punishing the U.S. for its policies toward Taiwan and Tibet. Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan called for using economic warfare against the U.S. over arms sales to Taiwan. He urges selling off some of China's $750 billion in holdings of U.S. debt. Chinese leaders have not disavowed the remarks of Gen. Lui and others, such as Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, who said that China would use nuclear weapons against the U.S. in response to any firing of conventionally armed long-range cruise missiles against Chinese cities. Washington Times, 3-8-10