China is our enemy

The blind faith all of our political leaders have in the notion of globalization is deceptive. The 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs lost in the last four years were not a result of globalization. They disappeared because of "China-ization."

Since entry to the World Trade Organization, the Chinese economy has been growing at warp speed. Annual growth has been estimated more than 10 per cent. This contrasts with growth from 1982 to 2002 in U.S. gross domestic product at an average of 3.3 per cent.

China's growth has been accomplished at the expense of the United States, Germany, Japan and all other Western industrialized and democratic nations. Last year both Germany and Japan, the world's second and third largest economies, each contracted by almost 1 per cent. Workers' wage rates in those countries are at or above wage rates in the United States.

Both countries' economies are heavily dependent on manufacturing for export. Yet imports were growing faster than exports as a result of an influx of Chinese goods. U.S. growth has been propped up by its huge defense expenditures -- half-trillion-dollar annual budget deficits not withstanding.

The United States has seen real wages drop steadily for the past 30 years. German workers, who traditionally earn more than U.S. workers, have recently had to increase their workweek by five hours with no increase in pay.

How has China accomplished this remarkable expansion? In a word: steal. They have stolen human capital and intellectual capital. Using hundreds of millions of peasants from the countryside, the Chinese government makes use of incredibly cheap labor, paying literally pennies per hour. Factory workers live like dogs on these wages. Their movements are limited by the government, and they have no hope of improving their conditions.

The second component necessary to create industrial expansion is intellectual capital obtained through deliberate research and product development. Research and development requires a large and long-term financial investment in both training manpower and supporting people doing the work.

China has circumvented this investment. It has done so by encouraging counterfeiting. Not only have Chinese companies pirated billions of dollars worth of software and CDs, but also they have produced many fake products from pharmaceuticals to motorcycles.

They steal, not only proprietary technologies, but also produce fake branded products, like auto parts and fashion apparel. Tens of billions of dollars in investment in both product research and advertising to create brands is simply stolen. Suing these Chinese companies in Chinese courtrooms is an exercise in futility.

The illegal products are not produced in somebody's basement or garage. They are made in large, visible plants. There is no question this activity is promoted by the Chinese government. The government's failure to close these operations is clear evidence of its complicity.

As the industrial power of China's totalitarian Communist government strengthens, it is clear it intends to use that power politically. It has just passed a law enabling the use of force to intervene in Taiwan's independence. Taiwan has a democratically elected government. Its democracy and independence was established almost 60 years ago. It is also an ally of the United States. The new law was plainly established as a rebuke to U.S. military power.

This past month, China has also confronted Japan, another close U.S. ally, over a disputed neighboring island that is thought to contain oil reserves.

There is no doubt the government of China fully intends to use its growing industrial strength to pursue its territorial expansion.

Eli Fishman is the owner of Cape Shoe Co. of Cape Girardeau.