China: The new space superpower?

[N35t0r]

There will be moon conservation groups before there will be moon mining.

The activists will have trouble chaining themselves to the mine entrances...

[Hauldren Collider]

Doing what other countries did 50 years ago = space superpower? They put a robot on the moon. Curiosity rover says hi.

The moon also doesn't have anything that isn't easier to get on Earth at the moment.

China's space program is still well behind ours, the Russians, and even the Europeans. I'm fairly confident that if there were some actual economic reason to start building up on the moon, private US concerns would put together the resources, and would be able to a lot faster than their Chinese counterparts.

[kentonio]

Of course you do, because you're still childishly bound to the idea of American exceptionalism and the inevitable dominance of the free market.

China is training more scientists than the US, they have a ****load more money and they're fast achieving technical and scientific parity with the US and Europe after years of industrial espionage and simply buying up companies that the west's free market beliefs fooled us into thinking it was fine to sell. Unless China hits an unlikely roadblock of immense proportions they are going to be a superpower very soon, and there's no guarantee that the US and Russia are going to be capable of keeping up.

[Hauldren Collider]

Of course you do, because you're still childishly bound to the idea of American exceptionalism and the inevitable dominance of the free market.

.....as opposed to the inevitable dominance of what? Chinese totalitarianism? Uh, yes. I'm still bound to the idea that markets work. I'm also still bound to the idea that gravity works. Idiot.

China is training more scientists than the US, they have a ****load more money and they're fast achieving technical and scientific parity with the US and Europe after years of industrial espionage and simply buying up companies that the west's free market beliefs fooled us into thinking it was fine to sell. Unless China hits an unlikely roadblock of immense proportions they are going to be a superpower very soon, and there's no guarantee that the US and Russia are going to be capable of keeping up.

You should tell that to the hundreds of chinese kids that go to CMU because all the universities at home suck...oh yeah, also, they never move back home.

[Hauldren Collider]

"I'm a highly trained university graduate. I have two options: I can live in the US where I am now, or the dictatorship with a gdp per capita fully one quarter of America's. Decisions..."

[kentonio]

.....as opposed to the inevitable dominance of what? Chinese totalitarianism? Uh, yes. I'm still bound to the idea that markets work. I'm also still bound to the idea that gravity works. Idiot.

If you think a system based purely on markets will remain inevitably dominant you are literally stupider than Ben Kenobi.

You should tell that to the hundreds of chinese kids that go to CMU because all the universities at home suck...oh yeah, also, they never move back home.

Hundreds of kids? Oh gosh, that must be devastating to a country of HALF A BILLION ****ING PEOPLE.

"I'm a highly trained university graduate. I have two options: I can live in the US where I am now, or the dictatorship with a gdp per capita fully one quarter of America's. Decisions..."

Chinese GDP per capita has skyrocketed in recent years. The idea that all China's highly trained university graduates are going to decide to leave their own country (China is hugely nationalistic you might remember) and come to America is utterly nonsensical, especially as America is fast developing a reputation as a nation of politically unstable idiots who regularly risk trashing their own economy to score political points.

You still have some retarded image of China as a communist dictatorship full of peasants. Please turn the clock forward from the 1950's and actually learn about the place, especially considering the vast sums of money you owe them.

[Ban Kenobi]

.....as opposed to the inevitable dominance of what? Chinese totalitarianism? Uh, yes. I'm still bound to the idea that markets work. I'm also still bound to the idea that gravity works. Idiot.



You should tell that to the hundreds of chinese kids that go to CMU because all the universities at home suck...oh yeah, also, they never move back home.

If they never go back to China isn't it possible that they enrolled in an American university so they could get into the US?

[Dinner]

They landed a glorified RC car on the moon. Yeah, it's cool but it is hardly original nor is it all that difficult. It's certainly not super power level stuff given how many countries now have space programs and are launching probes and what not. Honestly, it stinks of "me too" out of the CCP.

[kentonio]

Not really, it smacks more of a sensible space program that recognizes it'd be stupid to try for Mars if you havent even put a lander on the moon yet. Jesus, have you ****ers never even played Kerbal Space Project?

[Felch]

Chinese GDP per capita has skyrocketed in recent years. The idea that all China's highly trained university graduates are going to decide to leave their own country (China is hugely nationalistic you might remember) and come to America is utterly nonsensical, especially as America is fast developing a reputation as a nation of politically unstable idiots who regularly risk trashing their own economy to score political points.

You still have some retarded image of China as a communist dictatorship full of peasants. Please turn the clock forward from the 1950's and actually learn about the place, especially considering the vast sums of money you owe them.

I remember back in the 80s and early 90s, all the doomsayers claiming that Japan would take over. Why should we believe that China will wind up any different? It's got a demographic gap that's about to really start to hurt; it is surrounded by hostile, suspicious, or just plain insane neighbors; its environment has been utterly destroyed by its corrupt and inefficient crony capitalists; and it hasn't shown the world anything resembling innovative thinking in centuries. Landing a robot on the moon was impressive, fifty years ago. Now it's just pathetic grandstanding. In twenty years we'll all be joking about the old China scares.

[kentonio]

I remember back in the 80s and early 90s, all the doomsayers claiming that Japan would take over. Why should we believe that China will wind up any different?

China has vast resources, a huge population, an enormous landmass, an exploding middle class and a government willing to do nasty things when it think they are necessary. Sure the China bubble could burst, anything is possible, but right now the US is looking like a nation in steep decline and China is rising like a shooting star.

Personally I'd very much like that not to happen (until they move to a less oppressive form of government), but America appears to be on a determined suicide mission. You've gone from the insanely rich champions of democracy and human rights (on the surface at least) to a broke nation of *******s who have pissed off all your allies and seem determined to revert to a corporate oligarchy.

It takes some real talent to implode quite that fast, impressive work.

[DaShi]

Of course you do, because you're still childishly bound to the idea of American exceptionalism and the inevitable dominance of the free market.

China is training more scientists than the US, they have a ****load more money and they're fast achieving technical and scientific parity with the US and Europe after years of industrial espionage and simply buying up companies that the west's free market beliefs fooled us into thinking it was fine to sell. Unless China hits an unlikely roadblock of immense proportions they are going to be a superpower very soon, and there's no guarantee that the US and Russia are going to be capable of keeping up.

HC is correct. China's space program is entirely the result of Russian and American technology. There is very little innovation in it. China's space program is entirely about building nationalist fervor (which was true for the US and Russia too). However, both Russia and the US developed new, useful technologies from it.

[pchang]

You should tell that to the hundreds of chinese kids that go to CMU because all the universities at home suck...oh yeah, also, they never move back home.

They are merely the advance wave

[DaShi]

Hundreds of kids? Oh gosh, that must be devastating to a country of HALF A BILLION ****ING PEOPLE.

Chinese GDP per capita has skyrocketed in recent years. The idea that all China's highly trained university graduates are going to decide to leave their own country (China is hugely nationalistic you might remember) and come to America is utterly nonsensical, especially as America is fast developing a reputation as a nation of politically unstable idiots who regularly risk trashing their own economy to score political points.

You still have some retarded image of China as a communist dictatorship full of peasants. Please turn the clock forward from the 1950's and actually learn about the place, especially considering the vast sums of money you owe them.

I'd say that about 99% of Chinese universities are overpriced daycare centers at best. There is absolutely no academic activity occurring at them. China does have some good universities such as Beida, but they pale compared to many top western universities and are extremely dependent on western contributions in the form of talent. The number of students highly trained in China is very small.

[ricketyclik]

Hundreds of kids? Oh gosh, that must be devastating to a country of HALF A BILLION ****ING PEOPLE.

1.35 gigapeople.