5 January 2014 - any advantage

Speaking of decimation in time, that’s China’s strategy too. The West understands that it’s possible to build up advantages like political capital and soft power over time, and then expend or leverage them to achieve later ends. China takes the broader view that any advantage can be traded off. They don’t at all mind pollution today for faster economic growth; then they’ll have money and to spare for the cleanup. And because everybody wants China’s trade more than China wants theirs, they don’t mind picking border fights in every direction. So when China demands respect from the world, we should remember that in Chinese culture respect calls for obedience.