Don't know about Nixon's trip being contingent upon US support for Pakistan..
But yes.. China and India have been the traditional rivals in the region. I mean, one must only look at their huge population, and their intense rivalry for natural resources to develop their economies, in order to see why Pakistan would cuddle up to China.
But what is China getting in return? A buffer between themselves and India in that region, but also access to potentially vast sources of energy (which it now appears the West will be exploiting instead).. Previously, China had little worth offering to the Mid-East, but that is RAPIDLY changing as China develops its industrial capacity.
China is at that point where they've made the decision to assimilate certain capitalistic ideas, but without the political openess. They are moving from marxist/maoist centralized economics, but preserving the political priviledge of the the communist party elite. So the result will likely be a Chinese Fascist. In fact, some say it could already be defined as such. The only major difference between Communism and Fascism is the role that private enterprise plays in the economy.
And we know from history that Fascist states inevitably come into conflict with democratic nations adjoining them. Because it's a dictatorship by the few and the priviledged. And to prevent the common Chinese worker from rebelling against them, such as Tianamen, they have to keep their attention focused upon "nationalistic" goals, such as how the West is trying to "hold them down", or that the Chinese people are "special" and destined to control Asia.
Hawk |
