China vs. United States
Differences in Objectives
China and the U.S. have some significantly different objectives. This is a limited look at some of those differences.
China Objectives
China wants to be Number 1 in renewable energy production. China now generates nearly twice as much renewable energy (wind & solar) as the U.S.
China wants to be Number 1 in the production and use of electric cars. China now produces nearly twice as many electric cars and hybrids as the U.S.
China intends to be Number 1 in high-speed rail, which is electric. China now has more than 15,000 miles of high-speed rail, more than eight times the number 2 country, Spain. The U.S. has none.
China plans to be Number 1 in artificial intelligence (AI). Eric Schmidt, former chair of Google, said, “By 2020, China will have caught up in AI. By 2025, they will be ahead of the U.S. By 2030, they will dominate the industry.”
China wants to be Number 1 in quantum computing. According to NASA and Google, quantum computers can outperform today’s supercomputers by more than 3,600 times and today’s personal computers by 100 million times. Who is leading is hard to measure. China is building the world’s largest quantum research facility and intends to be the global leader. China has already launched a satellite than utilizes quantum computing.
U.S. Objectives
One U.S. objective is to “bring back coal” by relaxing or eliminating regulations on the production and use of coal. Since 1980, coal production has been level at approximately 800 million short tons every year. In 1980, the coal industry employed 242,000 people. This year, 53,000 work coal mining according to the Bureau of Labor Standards. This decline in employment is due to technology. The energy secretary proposed subsidizing coal because natural gas and renewable energy costs have fallen below coal in generating electricity.
Another U.S. objective is to bring back manufacturing jobs. In 1987, General Motors employed 877,000 worldwide. At the end of 2017, GM employed 180,000 worldwide and GM produced more cars. The decline in employees is primarily due to the use of robots and other manufacturing technologies.
Manufacturing employment in the US peaked in 1944 at 38% of total US employment. At the end of 2016, it amounted to 8% of total employment. More than 80% of the job losses in manufacturing have been due to technology.
The Administration wants to control immigration with a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. During the last three years, more immigrants have entered the U.S. from Asia than from Latin and South America. The illegal Asians have simply overstayed their visas.
Just as a footnote, the U.S. has always dominated the list of the top 1,000 universities in the world. In 2000, China had none of this list. Today, the U.S. remains the clear leader with 221 universities on this list, but China is now in second place with 136. Also, the International Monetary Fund and Pricewaterhouse Coopers have both forecast that China’s economy will be 50% larger than the U.S. in 2050. The U.S. will be in 3rd place behind India.
