{"id":315,"date":"2012-05-01T12:22:51","date_gmt":"2012-05-01T19:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/?p=315"},"modified":"2012-05-01T12:22:51","modified_gmt":"2012-05-01T19:22:51","slug":"death-by-china-is-a-global-call-to-action-to-confront-the-dragon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/outsourcing\/death-by-china-is-a-global-call-to-action-to-confront-the-dragon\/","title":{"rendered":"Death by China is a Global Call to Action to Confront the Dragon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every once in a while a book comes along that puts all the pieces into a complete picture.\u00a0 The well-written, easy-to-read book, Death by China<\/a>,<\/em> is one such book, and the picture it portrays is both revolting and frightening.\u00a0 \u00a0For too long, our business and political leaders have kowtowed to China, and the consequences have been disastrous.\u00a0 The response of most American economists and government leaders’ to the economic imperialism of China has been either na\u00efvet\u00e9, cowardice, or sheer stupidity.\u00a0 As a result, we Americans now face the risk of losing our national sovereignty, freedom, and way of life.\u00a0 But the whole world is in danger, both from a political and environmental viewpoint.<\/p>\n

In the first chapter, \u201cIt\u2019s Not China Bashing if It\u2019s True,\u201d co-authors Peter Navarro and Greg Autry portray the grim picture of the many tactics China uses to conduct unrestricted economic war against the United States in order to achieve its written goal of becoming the world\u2019s super power of the 21st<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n

They write, \u201cEven as thousands literally die from this onslaught of Chinese junk and poison, the American economy and its workers are suffering a no-less-painful \u2018death to the American manufacturing base.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 They corroborate the shrinking of the manufacturing industry that I wrote about in my book:\u00a0 \u201cAmerica\u2019s apparel, textile, and wood furniture industries have shrunk to half their size ? with textile jobs alone beaten down by 70%.\u201d And, \u201cother critical industries like chemicals, paper, steel, and tires are under similar siege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Navarro and Autry point out that as a consequence of China\u2019s becoming the world\u2019s \u201c\u2019factory floor,\u2019 it must consume half of the world\u2019s cement, nearly half of its steel, one-third of its copper, and a third of its aluminum.\u201d\u00a0 Even more alarming is the fact that \u201cby the year 2035, China\u2019s oil demand alone will exceed that of total oil production today for the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n

To feed its voracious appetite for the world\u2019s natural resources, China is practicing its own brand of colonialism that beings with a \u201cMephistophelean bargain:\u00a0 lavish, low-interest loans to build up the country\u2019s infrastructure in exchange for raw materials and access to local markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second chapter goes into detail on \u201cdeath by Chinese poison.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve been careful in avoiding \u201cmade in China\u201d products in the grocery store, but was horrified to find out that Chinese farmers produce 60% of our apple juice concentrate, 50% of our garlic, and a significant amount of \u201ceverything from canned pears and preserved mushrooms to honey and royal bee jelly.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t make you sick enough thinking about how much mercury and other poisons you are accumulating in your body from eating these products, consider the fact that China now \u201cproduces 70% of the world’s penicillin, 50% of its aspirin, and 33% of its Tylenol. \u00a0Chinese drug companies have also captured much of the world market you in antibiotics, enzymes, primary amino acids, and vitamins. China has even cornered the world market for vitamin C — with 90% of market share ? even as it plays a dominant role in the production of vitamins A, B12, and E, besides many of the raw ingredients that go into multivitamins.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some of the poisons are accidental results of shoddy production methods, unsanitary processing, or soil toxicity due to a polluted environment, others are simply a way to boost profits by Chinese \u201c\u2019black hearts\u2019 ? a term used by their own countrymen\u201d ? to purposely increase their profits. Their retelling of stories you\u2019ve read in the news will make you sick:<\/p>\n

Melamine added to human and pet food products to increase protein levels, the adulteration of the life-saving anticoagulant drug Heparin, and lead and cadmium used in making toys and jewelry.\u00a0 In addition, China is now \u201cthe world\u2019s leading source of farm-raised fish and dominates the markets for catfish, tilapia, shrimp, and eel.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It was horrifying to learn that China\u2019s fish ponds are filled with water so polluted that it would be equivalent to sewer water in the U. S. and the Chinese put poultry cages over the ponds so that the fish can feed on poultry droppings.<\/p>\n

This is why \u201cChinese foods and drugs always rank #1 of those flagged down at the border or recalled by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority.\u201d\u00a0 The authors point out that the \u201cU. S. Food and Drug Administration is so grossly understaffed that although it regulates 80% of America\u2019s food supply, it only inspects less than 1% of food imports.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the third chapter, the authors go on to \u201cregale you with tale after tale of the myriad Chinese products that can sicken, maim, or kill you\u201d so that you will be\u00a0 become motivated to \u201ccall, write, or e-mail your Congressional representatives.\u201d\u00a0 They urge \u201call of us to stand up just like Peter Finch did in the movie Network<\/em> and shout, \u201cWe\u2019re mad as hell, and we won\u2019t buy your \u2018Chinese junk\u2019 anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book moves on in chapter 4 to explain how China uses “Weapons of Job Destruction” to gut the manufacturing industries in the United States. \u00a0Navarro and Autry specifically illustrate how the Chinese bureaucracy systematically targets American industries to take over market share and destroy their competition. \u00a0They explain how the Chinese Communist Party seeks to achieve economic imperialism through its “eight pillars”:<\/p>\n

1. An elaborate web of illegal export subsidies;<\/p>\n

2. A cleverly manipulated and grossly undervalued currency;<\/p>\n

3. The blatant counterfeiting, piracy, and outright theft of America’s intellectual property 4. Engaging in massive environmental damage;<\/p>\n

5. Ultra-lax worker health and safety standards;<\/p>\n

6. Unlawful tariffs, quotas, and other export restrictions;<\/p>\n

7. Predatory pricing and practices to push foreign rivals out of key resource markets and then gouge consumers with monopoly pricing;<\/p>\n

8. “Great Walls of Protectionism” — to keep all foreign competitors from setting up shop in China.<\/p>\n

The next chapter provides an explanation of how China uses the second pillar of currency manipulation, followed by the chapter, \u201cDeath by American Corporate Turncoat:\u00a0 When Greenbacks Trump the Red, White, and Blue\u201d describing how corporations offshored their manufacturing to reduce costs and increase profits.\u00a0 I agree with their sentiment that there seems to be \u201cno patriotism among American corporations\u201d as judged by the examples of General Electric, Caterpillar, Apple, and many, many others.\u00a0 Their original motives may have been fear of losing market share, greed or following \u201cherd mentality.\u201d\u00a0 However, the loss of our manufacturing base is now compounded by China\u2019s new demand mandating \u201cforced technology transfer\u201d wherein \u201cAmerican companies must surrender their intellectual property to their Chinese partners as a condition of market entry.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The authors point out this facilitates \u201cthe dissemination of various technologies not just to the Chinese partner directly involved but also to the Chinese government and other potential Chinese competitors\u201d \u2026 so that \u201cWestern companies, in effect, create their own Chinese competitors virtually overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t outraged and concerned enough by the previous chapters, chapter 8 will do the trick.\u00a0 In chapter 8, \u201cDeath by Blue Water Navy,\u201d the authors document what China has been doing with the wealth they\u2019ve accumulated from more than a decade of huge trade deficits ? building up their military might.\u00a0 Consider this:\u00a0 China\u2019s army of 2.3 million \u201coutnumbers the combined forces of Canada, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0China\u2019s 6,700 tanks \u201cdwarf Taiwan\u2019s 1,100, South Korea\u2019s 2,300, and Vietnam\u2019s 1,000 or so,\u201d and even the U. S. only has \u201cabout 5,000 tanks.\u201d\u00a0 Navarro and Autry label China\u2019s Air Force as the \u201cbest that the Chinese can buy with our \u2018Walmart dollars\u2019 or that its spies can steal.\u201d\u00a0 For example, the Shenyang J-11B \u201cis a carbon copy knockoff of the Russion Sukhoi Su-27 and the J-15 \u201cis the equally counterfeit twin of the Russian Su-33.\u201d<\/p>\n

China\u2019s build up of its Navy to challenge the U. S. Navy is even more disturbing.\u00a0 The dominance of the U. S. Navy in the Pacific has been the only thing keeping Taiwan safe from being subjugated by mainland China.\u00a0 Navarro and Autry write that China\u2019s \u201cfirst goal is to push U. S. aircraft carrier fleets out of the Western Pacific ? and perhaps finally take Taiwan ? \u00a0and then to ultimately project hard power across the globe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The Chinese even have a new missile, the Dongfeng-21D, capable of hitting \u201ca powerfully defended moving target with pinpoint precision,\u201d meaning that it could destroy an American aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n

The American manufacturing industry was responsible for producing the goods and equipment that enabled the U. S. to win WWII and defeat the Soviet Empire in the Cold War.\u00a0 But, now the \u201cfactory floor\u201d of the world is in China, and the U. S. no longer has the capacity to ramp up to produce enough of the goods and equipment that would be needed to defend our country in a war against China.<\/p>\n

After defining the challenges America faces in competing in the “Century of the Dragon,” Navarro and Autry conclude with an outline of a clear and achievable path for America to tame the Dragon’s onslaught. \u00a0There are recommendations for everyone from government and business leaders down to individual Americans.\u00a0 In my meeting with Mr. Autry after reading his book, he told me that he believes boycotting 10% or more of Chinese products may be enough to destabilize the economy enough to topple the Communist regime. Peter Navarro is a professor at the University of California, Irvine and Greg Autry is an instructor and doctoral student at the university.\u00a0 Mr. Autry also serves as Senior Economist for the American Jobs Alliance, a non-partisan, non-profit organization formed in 2011 to create and support American jobs.\u00a0 The mission of AJA is:<\/p>\n