On June 3, delegations from the Chinese and U.S. ministries met in Singapore. Although the positions of the two sides are still-for-tat and the atmosphere is tense, being able to break the previous speculation of a "cold war" and meet for talks is already a major diplomatic progress, which has made many countries feel relieved.
This is not the first time that China and the United States have chosen Singapore as the meeting place. Singapore, located at the choke point of the Straits of Malacca, is not only geographically significant, but also politically and economically significant.
Against the backdrop of tensions between the two superpowers, China and the United States, it is not easy for Singapore to maintain good relations with both countries. Singapore's ability to handle international relations is inseparable from the foresight of its leadership.
Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, had a deep understanding of this, and he believed that the United States, as the world's leading Western hegemon for a long time, could not be surpassed by other countries in a short period of time. In his 2013 book, Lee Kuan Yew Sees the World, provided a detailed analysis of China and the United States.
Regarding the United States, he wrote: "Although in recent years, the United States has shaken its world hegemony due to the financial crisis and the defeat on the battlefield in Afghanistan, the United States will remain the international leader for a long time to come." ”
While it is possible for other countries to catch up with the United States in the economic arena, this is only a sign of the shaking of the United States' economic position, but beyond the economy, the United States has three unique advantages.
As long as these three advantages persist, the United States cannot be defeated. First of all, the United States has a deep military advantage, and its equipment and military bases are all over the world. This advantage originated during World War II, when the United States, although it performed well, did not surpass the Entente in terms of equipment.
However, the United States, realizing the importance of ** technology, began to actively loot German scientists and technicians, thereby creating a strong military base.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. Strategic Intelligence Agency conducted a covert operation, Project Paperclip, whose goal was to discover and attract German scientific talent. Guided by the idea of looting and taking away German scientific and technological achievements, the United States began to consciously look for relevant people and **.
The most striking result of the operation was that of German rocket scientist von Bryan, who, as the designer of the V2 missile, helped the United States make a leap forward in rocket technology.
Von Bryan later participated in and led the development of the Saturn V rocket, which successfully helped the United States achieve the historic moment of the first human landing on the moon. After the United States, which tasted the sweetness, further intensified its search for German and European scientists, and this trend continued into the post-war period, for scientists, the post-World War II United States was clearly better suited to live and study than the devastated Europe.
In the post-war United States, the power of science and technology and the convergence of talents created a new era. The United States has attracted a large number of European scientists with its financial resources and policies.
According to statistics, before and after World War II alone, the United States absorbed more than 1,600 former German scientists and engineers, which made the United States increasingly advantageous in the field of science and technology.
During the Cold War, the United States invested a lot of money in the research and development of military equipment, which made the United States begin to grow explosively in technology, from missile submarines, to tanks and aircraft, and then to individual combat, the United States has achieved the leading position in equipment.
Take the B2 bomber as an example, it is the only strategic bomber in the world, and its weight unit is two to three times more expensive than the value at the time of service, and no one has been able to beat it so far.
Looking at the F22 fighter, although it has been in service for nearly 20 years, it is still one of the strongest fighters in the world. Looking at the world, only our J-20 can compete with it.
As the largest maritime power, the United States has a long history of establishing overseas military bases. In the mid-19th century, the United States began to occupy a large number of remote islands in order to compete for guano resources, and established the first overseas military bases on this basis.
After World War II, the United States deployed a large number of military bases in Europe, making Europe part of the American sphere of influence. All this is inseparable from the leading position of the United States in terms of ** equipment and overseas military bases.
Over time, the number of overseas military bases in the United States has increased. At first, these bases were mainly concentrated in Western Europe and East Asia, and their purpose was to protect and spy on allies and subjects.
However, with the development of the world economy, the United States has become more and more demanding in promoting the dollar and obtaining oil, and they have begun to frequently intervene in the regional situation and create local wars, which has also prompted the expansion of US military bases to more regions.
At present, relying on various means, including cunning and coaxing, the United States has established more than 500 overseas military bases around the world, distributed on five continents and four oceans.
While we can effectively stop the enemy at our doorstep, we still can't compete with the U.S. military on a global scale.
The scientific research strength is the best in the world, attracting talents from all over the world, and always maintaining a leading edge. The reason why the United States has been able to stand out in the military field is largely due to the hard work of scientists and technicians around the world.
The United States is undoubtedly the center of scientific and technological innovation in the world today, with the best scientific research talents and equipment, providing a solid foundation for various scientific research and innovation. A science center is a place where scientists migrate and move en masse in order to develop better.
The British scholar Bernard was the first to come up with the concept, arguing that science needs to communicate and collide, so scientists will naturally gather in the place that is most suitable for their development.
Later, the Japanese scholar Yuasa Mitsuchao further quantitatively defined the science center on the basis of Bernard's theory, and he believed that if the number of scientific achievements in a country in a certain period of time exceeded 25% of the global scientific output, then the country could be called the world science center.
Historically, there have been five major shifts in global tech hubs.
In the long history of mankind, the development of science has always been closely linked to the background of the times and cultural thoughts. For the first time in Renaissance Italy, the enthusiasm of mankind to explore the world was stimulated, and Copernicus, Galileo and others laid the foundation for the development of modern science.
The second time in England, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Britain began to emerge Newton, Hooke, Halley, Adair, Harvey and other masters in various fields, becoming the second world science and technology center.
Third, in France, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution created the "** era" of science, and the emergence of masters such as Lagrange, Laplace, Coulomb, Ampère and Lavoisier made France a leader in science and technology.
For the fourth time in Germany, Germany's radical reform of university education attracted Europe's best scientists, most notably Albert Einstein. Every leap in science is the crystallization of human wisdom and courage, and they are making great contributions to the progress of mankind.
In just a few years after World War II, the United States succeeded in replacing Europe as the world's new generation of science centers. This is because the United States received a large number of European scientists who won 21 Nobel Prizes for Europe and 31 Nobel Prizes for Germany before World War II.
However, after the end of World War II, the number of Nobel Prizes in the United States skyrocketed, and almost every time the award was in the bag, it was immediate. Nowadays, the United States has made leading development in most scientific fields, we often mention German automobiles and Japanese machinery, but we rarely emphasize a certain technology in the United States, because American science and technology has achieved leadership in almost all fields, whether it is mechanical manufacturing, aerospace, energy and power, biomedicine, basic physics, the United States is a mountain that cannot be bypassed.
Despite the complexities of the modern business world, most industrialized products contain a large number of scientific and technological achievements and related patents. If these techniques are to be used, it is difficult for the United States to get around it, which is why the United States is able to impose sanctions at will.
However, the situation in the world is changing rapidly, and the technological superiority of the United States is no longer out of reach. In the past decade, China's scientific research has rapidly surpassed that of the United States.
Based on the high quality of top journals, China and the United States both account for 30%, far exceeding other countries. Historically, the world's science centers have undergone changes every 80 years, and the future development of science and technology is still worth looking forward to.
In addition, the cultural advantages of the United States are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and subtly, quietly attracting many scientists and becoming a center of science.
When the film was first invented in the 18th century, Americans recognized the role of film products in promoting international development. The Motion Picture Association of America pointed out in an early 19th century report that for the Chinese market, they believe that "if the American way of life is shown in American movies to arouse the interest of Chinese, it will help American goods better open up the Chinese market." ”
In the twenties, shortly after the report was published, large, well-integrated Hollywood studios began to set up branches overseas to distribute films overseas by directly employing employees.
At that time, the eight major Hollywood studios set up offices in Beijing, Shanghai and other places, and even had permanent representatives in Xi'an. These local offices continue to deliver Hollywood films to the local market, and in addition to regular film screening schedules, film shipments, theatrical box office supervision, and debt collection, they are also responsible for promoting films and American culture in the local area, such as holding regular cocktail parties and inviting celebrities to preview films.
With the efforts of the pioneers, Hollywood managed to go global, and American films became a global success. In this context, the United States has also spared no effort to promote its ideology in movies, from the protection of allies in World War II, to anti-terrorist peacekeeping, to the global redemption of superheroes, the United States has always appeared as a savior, invisibly strengthening its leadership position.
In addition to cultural products, consumer goods in the United States are also an important way for cultural transmission. In the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, Coca-Cola began to promote overseas, and later became the beverage supplier of the United States team, which further enhanced its brand influence.
After decades of hard work, Coca-Cola has become the world's best-selling happy drink, and at the same time, it has also successfully introduced the American cola culture to the world.
American products are popular all over the world, in addition to Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson's shower gel, Apple's mobile phone, Nike's shoes, McDonald's burgers, Starbucks' coffee, etc. are all hot products.
Although Chinese-made products are also selling well around the world, there is still a certain gap between them and American companies in terms of brand image and cultural influence. In addition, the cultural superiority of the United States is more difficult to surpass.
American culture is mainly spread through cultural products and consumer goods, and even if we can not watch American movies and listen to American **, it is difficult not to drink American drinks and not use American body wash.
The cultural superiority of the United States may seem harmless to humans and animals, but its influence is like an underwater iceberg, and if you are not careful, you can suffer greatly.
1.With the help of cultural advantages, the United States attracts talent from all over the world, maintains technological and financial superiority, and thus maintains military hegemony. 2.China has achieved remarkable development over the past two decades, becoming the world's second-largest economy, and the gap with the largest economy is narrowing.
To be honest, such an achievement is unimaginable to us. In 2005, Tianya had a post** that the real gap between China and Japan was too big, and even by 2030, China's GDP would not surpass Japan's, and many people supported this idea at that time.
However, this is not the case.
Five years later, in 2010, China surpassed Japan with a GDP of 40 trillion yuan, and on top of that, it doubled its growth over the next eight years to 80 trillion yuan.
This rapid progress has made our view of the United States increasingly weak, especially in recent years, after becoming an adversary, many people have begun to look down on the United States, believing that it is nothing more than that.
However, after all, the United States has been in the hegemony of the earth for more than 70 years, and it has advantages in the military, science and technology, and cultural fields that are difficult to surpass. In this regard, many leaders see this more thoroughly, such as the three advantages mentioned by Lee Kuan Yew, which is actually only one of them.