You forgot to mention the British Empire and its heavy-handed approach towards its colonies in Africa and Asia, most notably in India.
As Min put it, nations have interests, not principles. Nations love peace when it serves them better than war, and nations love war when it serves them better than peace. China proclaims itself as a nation of peace only because that makes it a more appealing business partner towards richer, established nations and leagues, such as the USA or the European Union, for example. If it was a belligerent military power, like, say, Iran or North Korea, trying to get some kind of global legitimacy would be greatly hindered, especially in terms in trade, something that Iran and North Korea have never quite gotten.
Instead it prefers its conflicts to be handled cold-war style; propping up nations that oppose US interests in regions where their own interest is centered, such as Africa and Asia, since doing so results in any US involvement in those regions of interest to be hindered, or otherwise diverts US attention away from Chinese interests. It doesn't need to waste all of its money on an overblown military because unlike the US it isn't overextending its reach into areas that are hotly contested; it's surging into newly-opened markets by letting everyone else do the hard work for them and then simply stepping in with money and investments and developing them to their own goals, by using the money that would otherwise go to said military for these tasks and for developing their own economy. They're working smart, not hard, and that makes them dangerous to any other nation, not now, but in the near future.
Make no mistake. There will come a time, very soon I suspect, where the Chinese culture shall become the dominant one...complete with its own stiflings of personal freedoms and expressions. We're already seeing it happen in little spots here and there, such as Google's policies ever since their attempt to get into the Chinese market.
Enjoy Pax Americana while it lasts. We may find ourselves wishing it would have lasted longer...or we may find ourselves wondering why we ever wanted it to continue at all.
As Min put it, nations have interests, not principles. Nations love peace when it serves them better than war, and nations love war when it serves them better than peace. China proclaims itself as a nation of peace only because that makes it a more appealing business partner towards richer, established nations and leagues, such as the USA or the European Union, for example. If it was a belligerent military power, like, say, Iran or North Korea, trying to get some kind of global legitimacy would be greatly hindered, especially in terms in trade, something that Iran and North Korea have never quite gotten.
Instead it prefers its conflicts to be handled cold-war style; propping up nations that oppose US interests in regions where their own interest is centered, such as Africa and Asia, since doing so results in any US involvement in those regions of interest to be hindered, or otherwise diverts US attention away from Chinese interests. It doesn't need to waste all of its money on an overblown military because unlike the US it isn't overextending its reach into areas that are hotly contested; it's surging into newly-opened markets by letting everyone else do the hard work for them and then simply stepping in with money and investments and developing them to their own goals, by using the money that would otherwise go to said military for these tasks and for developing their own economy. They're working smart, not hard, and that makes them dangerous to any other nation, not now, but in the near future.
Make no mistake. There will come a time, very soon I suspect, where the Chinese culture shall become the dominant one...complete with its own stiflings of personal freedoms and expressions. We're already seeing it happen in little spots here and there, such as Google's policies ever since their attempt to get into the Chinese market.
Enjoy Pax Americana while it lasts. We may find ourselves wishing it would have lasted longer...or we may find ourselves wondering why we ever wanted it to continue at all.
