Red Rising: PRC

The Chinese General Administration of Customs reports that China's worldwide trade surplus grew by 75% in 2006, or in other words, it increased from $102 billion in 2005 to more then 177.5 billion in 2006. China's exports rose 27.2 percent in 2006 from the previous year to $969 billion, while imports were up 20 percent to $791.5 billion. Unlike what many “experts” are saying this is not the surplus in US trade but for the entire world. The country breakdown has not yet been reported but it is expected that China's trade surplus with the US will suppress the record $202 billion in 2005.

This means that the US is one of the only countries in the world to import more from China then we export to them. This being the case you would think that we would demand China stop imposing restrictions on their companies on what they can import and stop putting up barriers to American exports, but this is not what is happening. China still restricts US imports and still keeps its currency pegged against the dollar, not letting US products be competitive with home produced Chinese goods.

In other news, the PRC has overtaken Japan as the world's number two car market, just behind the world leader America. The overall sale of cars in China rose by 25%, with a 37% rise in purchases by wealthy drivers.

With its ever growing economic power China is now beginning to translate that into ever increasing geopolitical strength. In it's latest show of international influence the PRC has told the US to not interfere with the newly signed oil deals between Iran and Chinese state owned oil companies. Through these major deals China is helping to sponsor Iran's nuclear program and feed its own ever growing energy hunger.

Red Rising

That great savior of the Bolivar revolution, Hugo Chavez, has announced that he is planning to go ahead with steps to transform Venezuela into the Socialist Republic of Venezuela. Although, I'm going to guess he is going to give the people a choice between the title being the Socialist Republic or the Peoples Republic, him being of the people and all (personally I like the Peoples Republic, it confuses us dumbed down Westerners).

In his inaugural speech Chavez outlined many of his new plans for enacting "Bolivarian Socialism". Some of them are nationalizing the utilities and kicking out foreign oil companies in favor of the newly nationalized Orinoco state oil company. The move towards more communal projects and the abolishment of presidential term limits also are at the top of his agenda.

With the US inability to democratize Cuba, destroy the FARC in Columbia, and now the fall of Venezuela, the fourth largest oil supplier to America, Communism has begun to make a larger headway in South America now then it ever did during the Cold War.

This begs us to ask the question of whether America really won the Cold War or did the Soviets just fake a collapse as part of their long range plan to spread the Revolution. I'll let you decide.