Cold War II: Niall Ferguson on The Emerging Conflict With China | Uncommon Knowledge

I like the way he says 'Hong-Kong was taken over by China', of course not saying that Britain stole Hong-Kong from China during the opium wars. Taiwan was alway part of China (except for the period of Japanese occupation), and is culturally Chinese. It's all very well for the US to occupy Hawaii and just take over Texas which didn't belong to them, but for China to take back one of its own provinces need to push the world into a major conflict.

Put this man in a chair beside Stephen Kotkin and do an interview that has no time limit or set agenda. Just let the conversation go where it goes. Please.

Wish our journalists politicians had 5% of the intellect and historical background as this program brings to light. So well done and enlightening.

I had thought that Hong Kong was British on a 99-year lease and that China took over when the lease was up. That is, quite legal and in accordance with the original agreement. Have I been mistaken?

Niall Ferguson (like many in the West) simply doesn't get the appeal of China in the global South. It is not about Huawei, Infrastructure or Surveillance - it is about economics. Take Africa as an example, once the Shale Revolution took off in the US, US - Africa trade plummeted (as Petroleum accounted for the bulk of trade between US and Africa). Today, China is by far, Africa's largest trading partner - and you can't compete with trade with foreign aid.

Peter Robinson is an unobtrusive but brilliant interviewer. Ferguson was at his best. Uncommon knowledge is a spectacularly good program, if that is not an inappropriate word for a program that merely consists of intelligent discussion about important current issues. I think it is very appropriate.

Niall said it at the end: the US spends more on debt interest payments than it does on defence. And he also said that a superpower that does that has numbered days. The reason this is happening is largely due to a skyrocketing debt situation that is difficult for the US to get out of (save for a sudden wave of technological innovation creating large new industries in the US), rather than a plummeting defence budget necessarily. Britain got into a similar situation after the spending necessary to fight WW1, with WW2 finishing them off economically. The US seems to be on a similar path now, so given that this is the normal route of downfall for great powers, is there really any hope of recovery for the US? While Niall and others offer probably workable ways out of the situation, history shows that these ways out are seldom followed.

Mr Ferguson forgot a few things. 1. Western democracies are in fact oligarchies. There is no representation for 90% of their citizens. 2. Vaccines was actually a negative example for the US. It pointed to having a lack of democracy. The US was not the first (Sputik was)...and had to strongarm allies buying it (while discrediting Astrazeneca in the same time). 3. He would need to look around his own neighbourhood. Most of UK suburbs are the most miserable ghettos on the planet. Those people don't get to participate in the so called democracy either.

There was no conflict except the US fearing that the Chinese economic development model might be more successful

We were stronger in the 50’s and 60’s for the same reason China is today, we had a strong manufacturing base and could ramp up in hardware quicker. We also had a good brain trust and a youth/conscription that would support the country’s leadership/direction. Today, we have youth that rightfully questions our leadership’s values and morals/integrity and a military that couldn’t ramp up fast enough.

Hong Kong became a British colony through two wars: the First and Second Opium Wars. The Opium Wars resulted in two treaties, each expanding the size of Britain’s Hong Kong territory. These treaties were followed by a 99-year lease in 1898 that allowed Britain to control even more land – a lease that ran out in 1997. China did not take over HK by force.

We all live under heavily surveillance societies, whether we live in China, UK, US, EU, etc. We are really all ruled by oligarchies. Political ideologies and systems make little difference!

"There is little value in ensuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.” quote from JFK

a former #1 world power advising a declining #1 power how to deter a rising #1 power a spectre haunts the collective west... the spectre of common prosperity (Pax Sinica)

1:53: ⚠ The emerging conflict with China has turned into Cold War II, which is more serious and dangerous than the first Cold War. 6:46: 🌍 The US has shifted its attitude towards China and Taiwan, moving towards a potential showdown over Taiwan after decades of strategic ambiguity. 12:57: 🇹🇼 The control of Taiwan is a high-stakes issue for Xi Jinping, and the US commitment to Taiwan is becoming more important. 18:46: ⚠ The war in Ukraine is the first Hot War of Cold War II and Taiwan is likely to face a similar crisis in the near future. 24:42: 🌍 The US must be ready to contain Chinese expansion in Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East simultaneously. 32:05: 🌐 China's Communist Party still holds Marxist beliefs and aims for communism to triumph worldwide. 36:36: 💡 China's innovation and economic power pose a challenge to the US, but protecting intellectual property and attracting talent through legal immigration are crucial for the US to maintain its technological edge. 42:57: 🌍 The Chinese model appeals to some people and countries due to its crowd control solutions and infrastructure offerings, especially in developing regions. 48:10: 😳 The speaker discusses the potential consequences of China becoming the number one global superpower and argues against it due to China's attitude towards human rights. 54:17: 🔑 The United States needs an external threat to unite and play better, and China is seen as the major strategic challenge. 1:00:01: 💡 The US needs to focus on buying time and deterring China instead of engaging in a showdown over a distant island. Recap b

I'm shocked at the fact that even such a high quality program cannot afford a stable table.

An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person...(Leo Tolstoy). Movie: "Fifty five days in Peking"

Here’s a thought, why not work on fixing our own mess, before we worry about the enemies beyond our borders? All the real enemies, are within.

Thank you so much for such a great interview with Niall Ferguson. He really gets to the heart of the matter.

let me ask a question that was mentioned in the video. Who gives western the right to contain China's growth?