Ukraine war shows West's dominance ending as China rises, Blair says

I wouldn’t believe it if he said the sun will rise tomorrow! The man should be in prison for war crimes. He is a cynically self serving hypocrite; self promotion is his only real talent.

That China is undoubtedly a menace we can all see from its actions, as to predictions of its dominance in the future, remember all predictions have one thing in common, they are wrong! Humans are just not very good at integrating all the many and complex factors that impinge on future events, it is more than our hunter gatherer brains were evolved to deal with. I remember gloomy dystopian predictions of the decline of the West and a 21st century dominated by an all powerful Japan. Still waiting ;)

Evn if China is ascending, anyone can notice people flee from China to the West, not the opposite...

Who wants to live his life to its fullest in China when at anytime anyone can be isolated for indefinite time because a test tube says so. Even separated from your beloved...

An open war would provoke deserters by tens of millions in China.

Tony who?

The chinese economy is on the brink of collapse, just like the US and most countries around the world. Dont believe this fear peddling war criminal.

The singer George Michael infamously used in his song “Shoot the Dog” in July 2002, the video of which showed Blair as the “poodle” on the lawn of the White House.

Jaoan is understandable, but it’s not like the UK is occupied or anything.

Evn if China is ascending, anyone can notice people flee from China to the West, not the opposite...

I think you'll find there are a huge number of Western people in China. In the last 10 years, probably more than has gone the other way despite China having around double the population of Europe minus Russia and North American combined.

They have internet and phones in prison cells in The Hague? Or did he bribe some guard and escape?

China’s place as a superpower is natural and justified.....

As spoken by a neo-liberal multi-culty globalist. This ideological group of multimillionaires has long worked to propel the authoritarian communist dictatorship to global economic dominance at the expense of the free and democratic West.

Read the book "Rupert Murdoch's China Adventures" and you'll see what I mean. There is a special place in Hades for these greedy, self-serving and communist-loving fat cats.

quercetumToday  06:06 pm JST

The singer George Michael infamously used in his song “Shoot the Dog” in July 2002, the video of which showed Blair as the “poodle” on the lawn of the White House.

Jaoan is understandable, but it’s not like the UK is occupied or anything.

Neither are "occupied".

https://militarybases.com/overseas/united-kingdom/

I always liked Tony Blair and thought him a competent leader. He won three general elections as Labor leader so the people thought him the best leader at the time. He was wrong on WMD in Iraq, but other than that he did a fine job.

No, I am not English and no I did not live there during his three terms in office. Spoken as someone outside looking in. I am sure from previous posts on this thread that many have no respect for the man, and that is everyone's entitlement.

Is he right on this issue? It has been a bi-polar world for most of the time since WWII ended until the collapse of the Soviet Union, and from around 2010 onward with China replacing the Soviets over the fence from the US position. Perhaps a twenty year period where the US was the only superpower between 1990 to 2010. The US and Western and Asian allies will see that "block" remain a superpower and China maybe with Russia, being the opposing superpower.

He is right that the West must maintain military superiority in order to maintain their collective safety and to ensure China does not rule over their interests. China and Russia will have their sphere, where they can coerce and bully those alone or not in the Western alliance, But they will never be able to bully the US or Europe as long as they have quality of goods and technology and an ability to provide or procure needed resources outside the China sphere.

Interesting times ahead, but let us all hope they are peaceful times as well.

AxelToday  06:11 pm JST

Evn if China is ascending, anyone can notice people flee from China to the West, not the opposite...

I think you'll find there are a huge number of Western people in China. In the last 10 years, probably more than has gone the other way despite China having around double the population of Europe minus Russia and North American combined.

"According to the analysis of its latest census – conducted every ten years – released on May 11, 2021, only 845,697 foreigners lived among 1.41 billion Chinese as of November 1, 2020. They make up 0.06 percent of the population."

https://table.media/china/en/opinion/foreigners-in-china-a-vanishing-minority/

"There are more than 10.7 million Chinese overseas today – about 60 million, if their descendants are included – according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM ). This is one of the highest figures of immigration in the world. "

https://en.unesco.org/courier/2021-4/overseas-chinese-long-history#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%2010.7,of%20Chinese%20migration%20is%20ancient.

Blair has always been a weasel

Chabbawanga:

The chinese economy is on the brink of collapse, just like the US and most countries around the world. Dont believe this fear peddling war criminal.

Are you Gordon Chang? He's been saying China would collapse in year XXX for the past 20 years.

Bliar knows all about military, seeing that he's a war criminal, knighthood or no knighthood. This guy has been fighting off China ever since Wendy Deng threw herself at him.

The war in Ukraine, Blair said, had clarified that the West could not rely on China "to behave in the way we would consider rational".

In other words, China doesn't want to support the West's prolonging of the war at the behest of Master America. The last day rational and Bliar appeared in the same sentence was the day before he committed his country to the illegal invasion of Iraq which lead to countless deaths of children.

There is little argument that Tony Blair is a intelligent gifted politician, orator.

In office Blair was a scheming falsifier with a singular lack of conscience and empathy.

The Chilcot Report is damning enough, yet only half the story.

Tony Blair unrepentant as Chilcot gives crushing Iraq war verdict

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/chilcot-report-crushing-verdict-tony-blair-iraq-war

The hundreds of thousand of lives lost, the families wasted at Blairs arrogance is spine chilling.

To quote TIME US

Tony Blair agreed to go to war at least 8 months before the invasion

In one of several letters published alongside the report, then Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote to President George W. Bush on July 28, 2002— eight months before the invasion, and before getting the approval of the British parliament — that he would support military action in Iraq. “I will be with you whatever,” he wrote.

The letter contradicts Blair’s previous claims to the public that he never privately committed to join the U.S. military action in Iraq in the year before invasion. The letter also said that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was “the right thing to do. He is a potential threat. He could be contained. But containment … is always risky. His departure would free up the region.”

This action created was a huge vacuum that religious fundamentalism filled.

One needs to be fully aware of Blair duplicity and balance this against his public calls for a de facto call to arms with the Government of China.

Blairs use of the war in Ukraine is contemptable

The bottom line if Gordon Brown had not insisted that the UK kept the pound, Blair would have had Great Britain join the Euro.

Its economy is forecast to overtake the United States within a decade and it leads in some 21st century technologies such as artificial intelligence,

Blair is a neo-liberal war criminal but the point here is valid.

Advances in machine learning that display "AI characteristics" are being fueled by big data , and China through their invasive apps and lack of privacy laws is collecting more of it that anyone else.

This could be the 21st century "missile gap".

There is an over emphasis on China. There is a much more powerful entity than China and that is Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, and China.

Iran has submitted an application to join and so has Argentina. If India and China can bury the hatchet over territory disputes, this group has far greater potential than China, the lone country the US lackey has singled out.

BRICS no doubt will be the future. They have the economic and military power. They have energy and the world’s largest renewable energy producer. They have their own space station. They will be US sanction proof as we can witness what Russia is doing. They buy and trade with each other and can be self sufficient.

They are building infrastructure in Africa. China is splashing money around - and no this isn’t using money from exports to the US as that is only less than 5% of their GDP. They just built and gifted a new parliament building for Zimbabwe. China is looking to build a military base in Brazil.

The West is still trying to bleed their economy by increasing defense budgets - money they don’t have - to prepare for a war with China that won’t happen.

BRICS will overtake the EU. The US share of the global output is declining. The question is if the West will engage or not and how.

Lastly, the members have stated that BRICS will not allow China or any one country to call the shots. Unlike the West, it won’t be one country’s call, it will be democratic.

quercetum:

I actually agree with you today. And China is not looking to 'overtake' the world like Fu Manchu or Ming, but would actually prefer a multipolar world. America can be a part of that, but it's up to them. They can either live along side others or they can just wither away as they shoot themselves in the foot. Why spend money on weapons and wars and military when you can spend it to better the lives of its citizens?

Mr. Blair dragged NATO to war in Iraq for a LIE and now he claims the end of the west dominance, gladto see him on the sideline.

They can either live along side others or they can just wither away as they shoot themselves in the foot.

May I?

The foot has been shot off but CNNFOX is talking about Trump, The government went to the emergency but couldn’t afford the treatment. They called their insurance agency and we’re denied coverage but then transferred to Goldman Sachs who offered them a 10 million dollar loan, sub-prime of course.

Why spend money on weapons and wars and military when you can spend it to better the lives of its citizens?

You’re on the money with the US choosing to engage or not.

I used to wonder why buy an F35B for $100 million or spend $900 million on a defensive contract when there is so much more you can do to better the lives of the people. That’s not the goal though. How stupid of me to think the government should help its people when say, there’s inadequate healthcare.

Weapons makers have lobbyists and they put their people in office and so these hawks create these decade long wars to justify the defense spending. It’s a kind of money laundering these government contracts.

So here is Blair again doing the same thing and the naive say, “well you know, he is right though.”

Xi is just the latest Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gadaffi. But the Chinese are smarter or they have more self-control than that. They know their number one goal is not to get in a war with Taiwan or anyone. What an idea: don’t make war, make money!

Like I say, go and manufacture something (not weapons) and sell it. Trade using your comparative advantage. Use money to make money but don’t make wars to make money. Stop creating these boogeymen. We all can see through you.

They called their insurance agency and we’re denied coverage

Apparently they found some pre-existing conditions. Policy canceled.

Irresponsible speech. The West has allowed China to become powerful by giving away most of their manufacturing, based purely on corporate greed. Hard to find many things in North America that are not made in China

"According to the analysis of its latest census – conducted every ten years – released on May 11, 2021, only 845,697 foreigners lived among 1.41 billion Chinese as of November 1, 2020. They make up 0.06 percent of the population."

https://table.media/china/en/opinion/foreigners-in-china-a-vanishing-minority/

"There are more than 10.7 million Chinese overseas today – about 60 million, if their descendants are included – according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM ). This is one of the highest figures of immigration in the world. "

https://en.unesco.org/courier/2021-4/overseas-chinese-long-history#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%2010.7,of%20Chinese%20migration%20is%20ancient.

Firstly, there are a huge number but still a very small % of the population of China. Obviously! Westerners also make up a tiny % of the population of Japan.

Secondly, where the hell did you find the website "Table.China" and are the figures they present without any sources factual?

10.7 million Chinese overseas and about 60 million if their descendants are included? Well, there are about 300 million Western abroad if their descendants are included. So by the figures you present, 5 times more Westerners escaped from their countries than Chinese people escaped from China.

This isn't surprising. For about 4500 years of the about 5000 of human civilization, China has been the most advanced society. The Chinese didn't want to leave it.

Its economy is forecast to overtake the United States within a decade and it leads in some 21st century technologies such as artificial intelligence,Blair is a neo-liberal war criminal but the point here is valid.

Advances in machine learning that display "AI characteristics" are being fueled by big data , and China through their invasive apps and lack of privacy laws is collecting more of it that anyone else.

This could be the 21st century "missile gap".

Not valid at all. In terms of US$, the US economy is still larger but why do the Chinese care about the USA $? In the much more accurate PPP, China's economy is far larger. China has the industry and manufacturing capacity while USA has bankers and lawyers.

I guess both Tony Blair and John Major like making running commentaries on world events

He’s wrong - Russia is the real ‘threat’ and will emerge as stronger and superior than China due to its Willingness to take larger risks

china is closer to a barking dog particularly militarily.

The government of Russian is a superpower, way beyond the Government of China!

Blair completely missed the point....

Here.....

Russia Exports

https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/exports#:~:text=Russia's%20main%20exports%20are%3A%20fuels,agricultural%20products%20(5%20percent).

The Global community including China is totally dependent on Russian energy.

The irony, the Russian Government never needed to invade Ukraine, or fire a single missile.

Russian Government could have held off until the Nord Stream 2 came online, then leveraged the price/revenue.

They had already cornered the market.

The government of Russian is a superpower, way beyond the Government of China!

Absolutely correct, recall at the start of the Special Military Operation, so-called serious anaylsts were saying XI would 'reign in' some of Putins actions

In fact, the opposite has occured with Putin calling the tune and Xi dancing.

For Japan a politically strengthened Rusia at the expense of an exposed paper tiger China is a good thing BTW

It is too funny to read all the comments, especially all the machismo and bravado about China not going to dominate or at least not long, the "China's economy is collapsing", etc... Since 90% of those saying these things are doing so on a laptop, PC, smartphone all partly or wholly made in China, probably wearing socks, trouser, shirt, etc...also made in China.

Don't like Blair but as the saying goes, "even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut" well Blair found a nut this time and he is right about what is happening.

And Blair is absolutely right, even if many don't want to see him. The dominance of the west has its days numbered..

China's unstoppable rise is more and more evident and those who are with China will also win..

Whether you like it or not the future is RED...

NEW World order coming, beautiful days too..

Get used to it..

PC, smartphone all partly or wholly made in China, probably wearing socks, trouser, shirt, etc...also made in China.

not sure what any of that has to do With political power.

true power is what Russia is doing right now, taking what it wants , when it wants, and switching off access to daily essentials in order to achieve its aims.

the Chinese are too scared to do anything other than continue selling their junk to the west.

true power is what Russia is doing right now

Well yes and no , if China and India turn on Russia then Putin has a problem.

But China has a rival and that is where Russia has leverage.

India need resources and so does China so neither wants to risk pissing Russia off.

That is Russia's real power.

Unfortunately, Democracies are weak in comparison to Totalitarian states such as China, Russia, N. Korea. Democracies generally find it difficult coming to an agreement, instead relying upon mutual consensus which inevitably leads to a watered down version of the original plan. Totalitarian states, on the other hand, just take action, and sanctions against them don't do much, since they're already self-sufficient. So with this in mind, no amount of beefing up local Military will help against a determined enemy - that's why we have Nuclear weapons - but using them, would be the unthinkable - but not so, for those Totalitarian states.

China will take over due to organization and population. China's largest problem is central control and beating down innovation that isn't stolen. There are some brilliant Chinese, just like there are brilliant people everywhere, but the culture that prevents criticism of the current govt will always, always, hold back the entire mainland society.

India will take over from China due to freedom and population, if they ever get organized and average wealth per family raises significantly. Poverty is a huge issue.

Both struggle with rampant corruption, which will hold them back and limit their abilities, just like rampant corruption is harming the Russian govt.

When mainland China becomes more like Taiwan, it will be a wonderful day for the world. Organization, population, the ability to criticize anything and the freedom to try, experiment, and innovate will make them unstoppable. The CCP is the largest hindrance to China. That and looking for win-lose business. When China switches to win-win negotiations, the world will change.

that's why we have Nuclear weapons - but using them, would be the unthinkable - but not so, for those Totalitarian states.

What makes you think it's not unthinkable for them too? Remember, it's Mutually Assured Destruction. Using them would result in the end of their state. Even the strongest dictator realizes that's a losing proposition.

Strangerland

Today 01:16 am JST

that's why we have Nuclear weapons - but using them, would be the unthinkable - but not so, for those Totalitarian states.

> What makes you think it's not unthinkable for them too? Remember, it's Mutually Assured Destruction. Using them would result in the end of their state. Even the strongest dictator realizes that's a losing proposition

Well for many reasons!

Let's take the constantly repeated Putin is Hitler/Stalin, those two would have used nukes especially if they were losing and no way out.

They would take all of us with them.

The Same applies to the Kim regime.

Remember Hitler didn't even care his own nephew was in Soviet custody refused to deal for his return, he ordered the military surrounded in Stalingrad to fight to the death no surender (they did anyway).

Stalin left his own son die a German prisoner of war refusing to even think about negotiating for his return.

These megalomaniacs don't care about their people, their country they care about remaining in power if they are going down they will take as many or all of us with them if possible.

Let's take the constantly repeated Putin is Hitler/Stalin, those two would have used nukes especially if they were losing and no way out.

Would they? And assure the destruction of their nation?

Nah.

The Same applies to the Kim regime.

Would he? And assure the destruction of his nation?

Nah.

One thing that surprised me about the invasion of Ukraine, is how many fatalistic pessimists there are out there, who are itching to appease the dictators of the world. I'm guessing they got it from Trump, who led the way by doing exactly that with Putin. Now he's set the expectation in the right of appeasing dictators.

Strangerland

Today 01:35 am JST

Let's take the constantly repeated Putin is Hitler/Stalin, those two would have used nukes especially if they were losing and no way out.

> Would they? And assure the destruction of their nation?

> Nah

See this is why knowing history is important.

Hitler actually said the German people deserved to perish and Germany deserved to be destroyed because they did not fight hard enough and let him down and lied to him.

He would and wanted to take everything, everyone in Germany down with him.

So seems you are wrong based on historical facts.

Again feelings of facts and again facts win.

Neither cared about the people or the country but believe anything you want, you are not interested in facts.

WW2 was a very different time. Whoever had nuclear weapons first was going to use them. Truman and the scientists on the Manhattan Project knew how bad it would be, but until the weapons were used, the rest of the world wouldn't know.

Until the average person in the world understood that, their govts could explain-away issues with nuclear weapons. The publication of what the US did, world-wide, in a negative view was good for the entire world to raise respect for the terrible destruction strategic nuclear weapons cause.

I expect this post will be extremely unpopular, especially here and with the cost paid by Japan. It should be.

See this is why knowing history is important.

In which history did a leader literally seal the end of their nation, on a physical existence level, based on their ego?

I repeat:

Nah.

So what do you folks all want ?

WW3 ?

Nuclear Armageddon ?

As Zalenski said, this isn't a Computer Game.... fights are REAL, BOMBS are REAL, Nukes - are REAL...

The Cold War lasted for 44 years (1947-1991). America has plenty of experience in a multi-polar world and I think Blair doesn't quite understand the degree to which the Cold War impacted American politics. I grew up during the later part of the Cold War (literally born at the halfway point of it). Russia was part of quite a few everyday conversations.

Russia seems to want to return to the Cold War era, but this time it will be teamed up with China.

Communism vs. Capitalism part II. Nothing more, nothing less.

The only difference between this Cold War and the prior Cold War is that America has a ton of investment in China. Russia's manufacturing base, etc.. is still awful and their only export of note is oil.

What's amazing to me is that Russia's economy is still very, very undiversified and very reliant on fossil fuel and that in the 30 years post 1991, there has been very little to improve Russia's economy for those other than the Russian Oligarchs.

The Ukraine war shows that the West's dominance is coming to an end as China rises to superpower status in partnership with Russia at one of the most significant inflection points in centuries, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.

Alas, the partnership with China is forced by the unrelenting aggression against Russia by US-Nato.

It should not be that way.