China territorial claims, rising India, fragmenting Europe

[TK421]

I’m curious what some of your thoughts are on the middle/late 21st century.

Nobody knows what will happen in 40 years, but barring any catastrophic surprises, there are some outcomes that are highly probable:

USA will remain a major power but will eventually be matched and surpasses by China. China will be huge but it’s also starting to experience the aging population crunch that has been troubling Japan and Europe. It will either have to accept this, find someway to get its people to have more children (both Japan and Europe haven’t been very successful in this), or rely heavily on immigration.

India will be a major rising power, possibly surpassing both the US and China by the end of the century, but if not, it’s all-but guaranteed to have the 3rd largest economy minimum.

Europe isn’t looking good. There’s a strong possibility there will be other nation’s exits from the EU besides the UK, which itself could possibly fragment. There are plans for a united defense force but this is highly controversial and probably won’t get any support from the alt right. India will have a larger economy than the UK in 2019 and will pass Germany within the decade.

The center of power will be in Asia with China & India, and another smaller center of power in the USA.

China has a LOT of territorial claims. If in the next 20, 30, or 40 years it uses its newly minted modernized military to start essentially annexing them, what should or even could the response of the world be? Is there anything we could feasibly do? Can you really sanction an economy as large as China? I know China has been pragmatic and not very militaristic but once a nation is on top and has a really good military, it has a tendency to use it. Temptation and all that.

 

[Sarcelle]

The people of China have been pragmatic and if they have their way will be satisfied with building China into an economic power, just like Korea and Japan.

Unlike Korea and Japan, China is governed by a despotic communist government that will not hesitate to throw China into a war as a diversion and brainwash the people that it is foreign nations such as Japan and India that are the problem and not the Chinese Communist party.

In East Asia and South Asia, with the exception of Pakistan, nobody trusts China.

 

[TK421]

I don’t know if Pakistan really trusts China either. They became strategic allies because of India.

 

[Lee1]

I think if the countries you mention with their huge populations all start to live the way we do in the west we will have considerable problems to deal with apart from war. But who knows.

 

[toddy]

Christians and scientific cults grew China tremendously while Buddhists have limited her growth within Asia. She needs to reform spiritual realm from darkness to light, Yin and Yang.