One of the publications I enjoy reading regularly is the Australian Quarterly Essay, in which an expert in political science or international affairs is invited to write a 25,000 essay on an important current issue. The following edition has responses by other experts

The September 2010 edition focussed on Power Shift: Australia ¢â‚¬â„¢s Future Between Washington and Beijing (Hugh White). The current one (November 2010) has eight letter-responses, from which I culled these interesting snippets:

* China is bigger and stronger than any one of its neighbours. But even if it continues to grow at current rates, it will not become stronger than all of them (Michael Wesley p. 93)

* China is a reluctant protector of the North Korean regime. The country owes billions of dollars to China, and its social policies have created unwanted immigration on the Chinese border. China cannot control North Korea, any more than the U.S. can control Taiwan (Lyric Hughes Hale p. 96). (I read somewhere else – can’t find it now – that North Korea has the second-largest army in the world).

* China has very large holdings of US treasury bonds (Harry Gelber, p. 102). US debts to China now approximate $1 trillion… Chinese support for the US budget deficit helped finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (David uren p. 108)

Rowland Croucher
December 2010