China Is Rising While America Falls Behind | Silk and Steel

0:00We're joined with Carl Ja. What's going on man? You don't okay today? I'm doing great. Thank you. Thank you Jamar. Thank you for inviting me. Always man, you always appreciate this and the audience loves you and always appreciate you joining me also. I'm just so the audience will know just in case they don't know who you are Carl Ja. He is host of silk and steel podcasts focused on China's surrounding regions their history culture and politics. You can follow Carl on Twitter at Carl Ja you can follow the podcast on Twitter at steel silk the letter in and you can subscribe to support the podcast from patreon.com slash silk and steel Carl yesterday was Chinese independent state or not independent state it's independent state for us Chinese national day is I think is what China calls it I guess is there a comment on that I mean you cover Chinese history. This was the creation of the modern Chinese state What do you thoughts on it just before I figure we should have very least commemorated considering this is

1:03Yesterday was the 77th anniversary of the establishment of the people which we public up China so by now the China in the modern form has existed longer than the Soviet Union and This and one thing that needs to be pointed out that today in 2026 the average Chinese people have been living lives better than any time in the past Chinese history you know I know there's a cult in United States called for all on going put out the Attention Carl Senyue and their Marketing slogan is China before communism well China before communism was actually not a very nice place to live for the average Chinese You know, there was there was a recurrent famine Civil war for invasion You know people can look up the life expectancy of China before 1949. It was pretty decimal

2:07You know like the Chinese life with average life expectancy in the 30s and 40s was comparable to Afghanistan during the Afghan war, you know, which is what we're talking about like The male average life expectancy is in like in the 30s Well, of course that has to do with a large Infant mortality because a lot of the babies they don't You know, they they don't survive into adulthood that brings down the average not saying like The oldest people were like In their 30s in China at the time, it's just because a large amount of babies would die One thing that the communist has done after the establishment that's of the people's Republic is it brought down the brought The race up the life expectancy by reduced infant mortality You know a lot of people talk about Mao Mao's mistakes talking about his His responsibility for the 1958 to 1962 great Chinese famine

3:13Well, that's true, but it's also true during Mao years the Chinese Life expectancy shot up because Mao has sent a lot of doctors to the countryside to establish clinics to provide basic medical service for For the for the villagers and that led to a sharp decline in the infant mortality Which boosted the Chinese life expectancy and today The Chinese average life expectancy is actually higher than the United States, you know for the first time in history and So these are the things to celebrate and also another thing was a literacy before 1949 the Literacy in China is about like 80 to 90 percent It's only 10 percent of people know how to read and today that that ratio again is reversed You know 90 percent like the Chinese literacy is over 90 percent and this is why it's

4:1399 percent I looked it up. Thank you This is why China is able to catch up very quickly in AI in all fields of technology And this is why the lot of Washington elites are worried Because China now is producing millions of STEM engineers every year, you know, they they produce Like five times amount of the STEM engineer than then then United States. So it's uh, it's it's this is how they're able to catch up so quickly in all fields Not because they're stealing technology like everybody is Assuming Because you know if that were true, you know, the China United States will be leading in 5G or something But you know, so so there's still areas of China may be temporarily behind, you know in some area of AI and some area of Rocket science, but even there they're they're catching up to SpaceX

5:14And American AI so this is giving a lot of people anxieties now Back in 30s and 40s the prevalent attitude Of American whole to China wasn't anxiety. It was more like pity and You know, the poor Chinese are getting their their their they're getting brutalized by the Japanese, right? But but today it's it's completely different because China now is a very strong Very prosperous nation. You can't say independence because China today has You know before 1949 China was beholden to all sort of foreign powers in China Like different foreign powers carve up their sphere of influence Um and us was famously For the open door policy in China which Means what really means is uh, United States won all the foreign power to have a equal share because United States was Johnny come lately when he comes to carve up sphere of influence to China because he doesn't want

6:17Britain and France to to to to to have the larger Slice of the pie so so you United States like hold on let's have an open door policy So all of us get an equal share of the Chinese market Um and and that you know now is promoted as some kind of the American benevolence to our China which is not exactly the It's a true story but anyway um China is a far is in a far far better place After the is a establishment of the PRC. I mean this is on disputed fact now So I think Chinese people have a lot of celebrate No, I mean It's been a miracle. I mean some people will call it a miracle raising 800 million people out of poverty Is pretty amazing the US only has 324 million people And we can't get right homeless off the streets China's been able to do this in a very short period of time

7:19What do you think was What was the the miracle in that like how does that work because we can't figure out how to do it in the United States I mean we don't even try to do it China China, that's it. You're working on your assumption that Washington you lead actually cares about listing people You guys that's not the American system is designed to do You know, it's designed to To to to suck up walls for the vast taxpayer base of you the United States to To to to to suck it up to the very few only guards that's actually running the show And that is doing very well. It's a feature not a book Jim are yes, it is But but this is a word where it's different in China, you know, you can say whatever About the Chinese elite, but the people running China actually care about Making China a better place that is I think that is the biggest difference

8:20And I think that's the miracle Right I mean because I think it some of it is because history right because China has entered a very dark period From the late 19th century to the early 20th century in the in the so-called Century of humiliation so a lot of the Chinese people found a very common grassroots to the top elite They all wanted China to do better. They all want China to be a more prosperous strong nation that dream has lasted More than a century now and and and all of them are striving to work into where the common go Boris I don't know what what unites unites Americans nowadays. I see it's kind of hard to I don't know I mean there must be something, but but it's a It's nice. It's look yeah, yeah, because

9:21What is like a grand national project the unites all Americans from different color different class Um, I don't know like today Yeah, nothing just the idea of America like this idea that you're under one thing I mean again that that is problematic that you bring up right There was one time jimmar that America was hold up as a land opportunity, right? The American dream is the idea that anyone can come from all corner of the earth You know give me their your wretched your your your your your your your impoverish immigrants And we'll turn them into Americans will will make them into proud working people um That That's not no longer the case. I don't think I mean it's like that I mean work at the point It worked everybody was purpose like meaning during I mean to be honest was after the war Where on some level it worked because you can make the argument of hey, we're all being prosperous

10:21Where capital is country look at the repression in the Soviet Union look at us everybody's making money You can take your vacations you have your two kids and wife. It was that But at a certain point, you know when everybody else catches up When you can't really make that argument anymore if that I would even go further That the moment that the US felt that he couldn't compete with the rest of the world the rules change at that point It became a rules-based order it became you know, we have to sanction rush We have to go after China in some particular way We have to go after Iran it became far more The moment that that ended that was the moment where everything else somewhat changed With the argument about the capitalist system and the way of life and the American way all that stuff became very tedious You raised a very good point because back in the Cold War US Particularly the US elite they have to compete with the Soviet Union right because Soviet was Exporting a very powerful ideology. So in order to compete with the Soviet Union They have to share they have to they have to do little

11:25Share they have to to share a larger portion of the pie towards the working class to get the working class American working class buy-in into the grand American project But after the collapse of the Soviet Union guess what happened like all that that motivation for sharing part of the pie disappears and now we have just hot all the dark circles all in you know, they want to get every they want to suck in everybody So in their to their bank account. So this is why I think that that kind of the narrative falls apart because The the elite at the top not now they're acting like the roper barons of the 19th century You know before the great depression before the new deal Then they are they are just as Rampaceous as you know the JP Morgan's of the old and they're now Because they they they feel They feel this is the end of history. We want we want the Cold War

12:29And we can do whatever we want now and they're no longer restrained and I think that's what led us to this place Today, but why do you think they haven't flipped their way to China though? I mean, there's still the Iliad ideology ideological Cold War taking place It's just Russia. This one is a capitalist country China is whatever they are What whatever they call themselves right cap. I mean, there's a chap capitalist or Chinese characteristics China is not China is not exporting is I mean, it's the ideology. It's right. That's not a ideological struggle right China is not China has an Ideology since 1978 you know the one thing shall be said. Okay, we're done with with exporting revolution You know, whatever mouth did you know, we've got to work on to Improves the livelihood of the Chinese people first in our country And that has been the path that China follows China China has been focused on

13:33You know, builder building socialism in one country and they they they're no longer interesting the world revolution the way that Mao was And so so so right now it's the kind of struggle between United States with China and Russia It's not a ideological struggle It's it's just pure power play just just like It's a US want to maintain it's a Germany. We we we we we want to maintain it's it's you American supremacy That's always about but it has a lot I guess the less It works less while as a rallying cry then uh, you know like The the Cold War because the Cold War there's a lot of they they have to stir up the red scare They say oh, they're coming here destroy our American way of life the communist are coming here to take our You know, they're gonna They're gonna take uh, they're gonna take our our our jobs and our women right and

14:35Well, literally that was a communist slogan anti communist slogan in China under Zhang Kai Shed Well, Gong Chang Gong Chief is like they will hold common property and and then the Do wife sharing no share your wife That's how the scare the peasants from To join the communist fact that but I mean to a certain similar degree that was also down in a lot of the Western countries Um, but it's just not in those explicit terms, but the thing is so right now I mean what does that mean to maintain America in supremacy a lot of the young Americans they don't have a great economic Prospect, you know, they they need jobs. There's they have more Serious thing to worry about like the American its supremacy didn't benefit them You know, not not anything that is that tangible all all they saw is the American brimless supremacy brought the gas

15:35The gas price at the bomb sky high and it's making everything more expensive More unaffordable to average people So yeah, so so this is why I think this is this is a difference between Now and then there's a you know the the Americans While the American you lead are still kind of Repatius there's still that long in the pursuit of the repatiusness while You know the the world the world the whole America is kind of falling apart as as a national project as the you know a society But they don't care about society because they think they they just don't care Um and and that's that's where we are I think China's interesting me because it has billionaires Right and in the United States those billionaires have been able to find a way I mean, but it's a different country. It's capitalist country the model the model is different the complete model

16:36The mark like America is still the best place for billionaires Because America is still the best place to For billionaires and yeah, this is why You see I know the way I go with that was thinking in the terms of like China has elements of the economy that are capitalist But those the elements of the economy don't Eat up the other economy somehow the political space they make a big role Jamar because they've been kept in under check, you know jack mod does not sit policy in China we all knew that now jack mod does not sit policy. He doesn't even influence policy Uh, we're asked people like Elon Musk like Peter Theo. Guess what they do They very much do you know everybody knew jade events just a proxy for for a Peter Theo and his Silicon Valley Posse and that that does not happen in China and this is why I say United States still the best

17:42Country on earth for billionaires because you see a lot of reporting on China in in Wall Street Journal or New York Times talking about all these Chinese rich people They're getting taxed in China and they're fleeing into United States. There's a capital fly. They're off Well of course because America is the best You know, he's poor billionaires the way they've been mistreated in China He's poor billionaires. You see this report all the time. He said future just billion Chinese billionaires seeking you know, it's refuge in the United States You ask you know Best best place to be if you have shit pounds of money, you know, so that that's You're given for the Chinese billionaires to do the best place to be Because in China there's all kinds of restrictions United States all the restriction fly out of the window Yeah, agree no, I totally agree. I mean, it's it's a capitalist country, right? You have to have capital to play

18:44um The other issue I wanted to hit that I thought was super interesting was South Korean President being very angry at Zelensky This story is great We hit upon it last time we were here, but apparently this story has progressed and just for the audience in case they don't know Two North Korean soldiers were apparently captured during the Ukraine war and they were transported to South Korea now this was supposed to be a secret And in fact South Korea is saying that it's Ukraine that wanted it to be a secret And now Zelensky out at the fact that they've been transported to South Korea And more to the point has even North Korea South Korea is claiming that North Korea I'm sorry South Korea is claiming that Ukraine is trying to stir the pot between South Korea and North Korea They create some kind of tensions between the two countries I'm fascinated by this What is the reality of this? I mean, what's the supposed to be a secret who's lying and all of this

19:44Right, so as we talked about last time it was standard during the Cold War To try to get this prisoner of war to defect you know this happened during the Korean war when uh United States imported uh, Junkai Shes uh the intelligence agent into the Chinese POW camp in South Korea to induce them to defect with high one They happened when the Taiwanese authority detained the Soviet ships uh, Travel into China and detaining the Soviet sailors and the CIA traveled to Taiwan to convince them to defect to United States So this is a very similar dynamic That that play out by the way those North Koreans were captured inside Russia You know because North Korea and Russia had a smutehouse defense pack and those North Koreans soldier would send to defend Kursk which is inside Russia from the Ukrainian attack. That's where they'll be captured Um and these two so this this the two North Korean POW obviously again became

20:47Upalm in this uh kind of new propaganda war and You craved on the they can they can you know leverage to their advantage by showing all you like look You know first of all Russia had to depend on all those Asians to to to fight To us your white European countries and then uh He they thought try to stir up tension between South Korea and North Korea because Ukraine actually wants South Korea to supply weapons right to to be Part of the European effort to supply arms to to Ukraine Whereas the new South Korean president, you know, he came to office pledging Uh a more independent policy that's according to South Korea's own national interest, you know from his point of view Ukraine was not our business High one conflict. It's not our business. We are where South Korea who don't have to get involved in any of these conflicts

21:51Not our business um but for Zalinsky obviously it's different right he's trying to try to work every angle. So what happened was um the South Korean government and the Ukrainian government had a deal that They when when they do the transfer of the the POWs they will keep it under wraps and So this for for for for many reasons because the first of all the the the current South Korean president He does not want to inflame the tension with North Korea, you know He said he want to have actual peace deal signed to end to formally end the state of hostility that existed since the Korean War Half a century ago, you know because the Korean War ended in arm's dis which is a ceasefire not a feastry Um so so so South Korea in president don't want to unnecessarily antagonize North Korea at this point and But what happened was his domestic opponent

22:51The right wing faction of the South Korean politics that the faction that supported the ousted South Korean president who did try to stir up a war with North Korea by and and by staging a a false flag Operation and and had tried to shut down parliament. So this is the right wing trying to publicize They're they're they're kind of working in coo's with lensky Because there goes to discredit the Korean current South Korean president's approach of We approach mom with a north right because there's are like oh you you're you're you're trying to piece a communist blah blah blah You're like a you know lord chamberland you're you're you're you're you're you're you're you're prostrating yourself to the dictators right so so then so that's why they Also when they got when uh, you know what the lensky's staying they they they they turn into a domestic

23:53agenda political agenda in South Korea is trying to say oh the the reason that's not our president is trying to surprise our illegitimate president is trying to suppress the news of this POW being sent to South Korea is because he's trying to appease to Kim Jong-un you know because he is appeasing the dictator So this is why the South Korean president guy really pissed because he felt like North zalensky had unnecessarily Got involved in the South Korean domestic politics right because this is really between the the two factions in the South Korean politics Uh fighting over this issue, but but the lensky in his eagerness to publicize the whole deal He is now implicating He's now standing on the same side as the South Korean opposition basically And this is why the South Korean president is really pissed because he felt like this is totally unnecessary like we had a deal Uh, you know like but you you you you that's why he publicly tweeted out basically

24:58We view kins and lensky for for for breaking uh breaking the deal and To caution poor loyal in in South Korea and and so this is this is a whole Well, he's been demanding an apology which is very South Korean to demand it It's a film's very like played a micro-adjustice sounds very tinnate right I demand an apology for this international incident that you've caused by Reveal weakness information Um, he's not gonna get that apology zalensky is claiming that South Korean president is lying Um, it's just a mess. That's all it's a bit of a mess Is this gonna have any major political implications in South Korea as opposed to well, I mean South Korea is politics It's also divided, you know, just like just like America at this point, you know, it's kind of 50-50. There's the left and the right and and they they that's a past few presidency has been kind of alternating between the

26:00The two wings of the South Korean uh politics so now the right wing Uh of South Korea is trying to make a big issue out of this um, I don't know any like I I don't I don't know how much you will yeah, how much you will read because because it's like uh It's like America too, right because right now even Even the Republicans Except for the hardcore Maka, you know supporters a lot of people are kind of tired of Trump's antics, you know, this is probably Why Trump is uh republican are projected to lose big time in the coming November election, right? Yes, but then you but you still have a very vocal Hahaha to mock us supporters on social media, making it seems like, you know that The matter uh, you know Yeah, exactly, exactly

27:00Oh, in fact I want to show you a clip talking about Trump being on it of your favorite president yesterday um I don't know what's happening in this clips. Maybe you can elucidate me but this is President of the United States the man who controls the new leader of the free world These unbelievable machines led by the most incredible pilots in the world They unloaded every single bomb went right down air shoots into this Drug factories really that's what they were doing. They were nuclear and drug They were doing drugs, but they were doing the nuclear but these drug factories slash nuclear factories were hit So hard these unbelievable He he's believe it or not he's talking about Iran And he's talking about the bombing of Iran and he can't remember Whether it's drugs or nukes meaning because he has drugs for South America. He has nukes for Iran and he is

28:07confused and can't remember which and so he combines them together and And not only are they dropping their bombs they're dropping their bombs in drugs and New factories airship and apparently they're doing both drugs and The bomb through the air shoot like a trash shoot, you know like You clear drug factories, you know what hear that and thinking like You know Like bomb fall you know the nuclear active drugs And like this is a common American excuse for bombing countries This is that's exactly what they did when during the Clinton administration when the bomb a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan claiming it was making weapons right and so so for American it's a same, you know You Trump just got to put them all together because he's Trump, but this is why I love Trump because he kind of The the Emperor has no clothes white open, you know showing that

29:11Yeah, that's humiliating Native American pure yeah, that's what we're doing drugs and nukes Together Leader of the free world that man is in possession of nuclear weapons I could tell them at any moment the purse the button in order to fire the nukes and it's unclear whether the generals will follow that order of the guy who you just saw in that clip Yeah, I'm We still have we still have a couple more years. We still have two more years We still have two more years Um the apex summit that's coming up is there gonna be a meeting between Trump's eging pin and Putin or this is still unclear Maybe I mean anything's possible because both Putin and she has always held out The door is open for negotiation and Putin actually recently floated the idea of a trial-ad or meeting between

30:15Three of them. So I think I think You know both China and Russia would not be opposed to that That I was actually just asked by RT before came into the show Where would the do you think where would I think the obstacle would be well? Obviously the obstacle would come from domestic Washington politics. That's where he always come from And because this is Clavary close to November election now. So it's all about how Trump want to position this but on the other hand Trump might just go for it because that will make him look presidential look all the big boys want to be with me You know, this is why he made that she visit such a big deal because that make him presidential look I'm reading with world leaders I am a president of the United States. So so yeah, he might just go for it because he it is It create enough spectacle in the media to distract from other issues his facing which is Epstein files and the wrong war

31:19Which most disastrous and and and so so who knows that you might happen What would that conversation even be about with all three of them because it would have to pertain to issues that relate to all three Right, I mean ideally, I would think I mean otherwise will be the one talking about If I'm Xi Jinping or Putin now just tell Trump come the fuck down, you know, come your titties, you know, like food It's like just just takes a tackle on your own man. Just just just just talk to us. Okay. It's okay It's cool. You you're surviving this because people are you already used to it, you know like people are already used to your 57 victories I've received round just take one for the team, you know like it's okay Because that that is one biggest economic issue facing the whole world at the point. Yes, but but well, you know, I mean, but but but but but but Russia is

32:20Is actually you know, it's work actually working pretty well for Russia because now they can do sound with their their oil at higher prices So I don't know And you know all for all those talks about US slapping sanctions on the dark fleet on the Russian oil and for all the US Navy seizing this oil tankers It's not working because the the dark fleet actually grew They're in the US section now. It's more than a thousand tankers are now in the so-called dark fleet carrying sanction oil from Iran and and Russia and then this is and and US Can really do anything about it because US Navy only have like what 300 some ships and that's including all the submarines all the aircraft carriers most of them not really suitable for Interinter addiction on the high sea and

33:20On top of that they don't want to do that because if they do cut off Because because India and China consume most of these sanctioned oil and if India and China lose access to those to Russian Oil or Russian oil guess what happened? They will have to compete in the international oil market with the western countries for the limited supply of Unsanction oil that that will make the oil price go skyrocket right like it's gonna go The young 150 dollars a barrel easily and that's not Trump what some it's not something that Trump necessarily want going to the election So so so for all the noises Americans are making Uh In fact, they're gonna Not do much. They're actually not gonna do much to stop the so-called illegal oil flows Starting their interest Well, it's also not illegal. It's just the US is opinion about it. I mean

34:22They're calling it shadow fleet, but that's just because in that brand british Uh, insurance. Sure. That's I worried like imagine that right you're not buying my product And so I'm going to call your product Dark or shadow product. It's like okay, dude. I can I can get insurance from somewhere else. I don't need your insurance But again, this is the west given language to things by the way I saw that China was stopping diesel exports out of the country. Is that true? Well, what China Is doing is they always make sure their domestic producers and consumers will get the first gift right which is not again Very different from United States. So you asked if all right even though Before the wall doing the beginning of the war everybody was saying oh US is gonna do great because US have plenty of oil and gas Resources well guess what No things the oil and gas is a global commodity and the US dig oils will more than happy to export

35:25It rather to sell them and low prices to local Americans so because they for them the number one thing is making a big profit which they are wreaking in right now um, yes, but Everybody else have to pay for and this is this is this is why even in Texas where the oil is being pumped out of the ground Diesel prices skyrocketing because a lot of the Excess production is being exported, you know where the oil majors can fish higher price and and you know So so but but we're trying to pursue a different again. This is where China pursue a different policy. They they're like look We have to make sure the because all the Chinese oil majors they're stayed all And so the Chinese government literally tell them what to do they're like no no you you gotta make sure you You gotta make sure you take care of the domestic consumers first, right? So so this is this is a difference between China and United States. The government still control

36:26What they call the commanding heights of economy which is finance Energy right and like there's no banker seeing China that will tell why she's in pink Because all the banks in China are stayed all so so like unlike United States here Wall Street elite can't tell the government what to do because they are in the Rational actors that's what that is competence. It's rational Um energy is one of those things that yeah should be stayed on energy transport etc There will be a few things that will think you should be stayed on The last thing and before I let you go there was a clash I'm not sure if you've saw it so if you haven't seen it's perfectly fine Clash between Japan and China at the United Nations General Assembly I saw this and I was super interested in this A lot of people may not know this but the victors of the second world war Can go after if it if they deem Germany or for that matter of Japan

37:26To be less a remilitarizing any threat They can take military action against those countries or the very least take actions against those countries under you and provisions That will put in after the Second World War And it sounded like and I'm maybe I'm misunderstanding it But the argument was that Japan was trying to say we're peaceful loving nation We let delves loose every day We have peace lilies that we hold on to um as we walk through the streets of Japan. We are just Devesh so this provision shouldn't be part of the United Nations And China seemingly was making the opinion of this is nonsense That these guys are remilitarizing They're trying to get um that much more provocative in regards to their really military rearmament This is not a peace loving nation nor were they ever a peace loving nation That provision needs to stay in place Is that will take a place or did I miss him to stand the fight? Yeah, yeah, yeah So so it's part of the UN Charter that the enemy nations You know the

38:28Of the World War II If they ever try to renotherize the victors have a right to take military action So this is something that Russia was Russia and China has been emphasizing the late years Russia again talking about Germany because Germany is talking about they're going to build the Europe's largest land army Yes China is Using the same class pointing at Japan. Oh you guys are militarizing remember what the UN Charter say What we can do if you're militarized So this is why First the Japanese argument was like oh that that that class is Outdated you know China Yeah, China's like no, it's not so now the Japanese Prime Minister talk aichi what to you answer Okay, let's carry on this class because the we are we're good now

39:29Well, yeah, what what what what what peaceful nation? This is why we're militarizing because we wear peaceful nation, but let's carry on the class the China's like What are you talking about? They're why you militarizing? So this is the kind of That's a time of war, but for Japan only its part is militarizing because the Japanese economy is not doing well And the japan japanese garment think they will dig themselves into a hole if they just do Military kinsenism, you know like let's switch from like producing card for the same tanks And another part is the japanese conservative wing of the The ldp with the japan is ruling party has been chafing Ever since the war to under the peace constitution was imposed on them by the united states Which there's article nine of the peace constitution says you know japan japan should not have a military force except for a Self-defense force to solely for the defense of japanese national territories

40:34Right, this is why the japanese military today is called us the the the japanese marantine self-defense force and the japanese self-defense force respectively and and but but These japanese yili feel like they are being unfairly targeted because this makes japan a not normal nation to be a normal nation They need to have the right to a normal military They should have a military that commissarate to the japanese economic power So they have been working for decades trying to get rid of that peace constitution But the peace constitution itself is very popular inside japan because a lot of the japanese people rightly recognize It's because japan diverted all the resources away from military into civilian Economy that that made the japanese miracle after the war possible So they very like much like that article nine of peace constitution to stay so all this japanese politician Fonshinzo Abe to his prodigy now the takaiichi

41:37They want okay, so we can't get rid of the constitution. All right. We'll just Reinterpret it. We're reinterpreted is say okay We need to defend japan when the japanese national interest is A face existential threat. What would be the existential threat? Taiwan if they'll work break out in Taiwan that would be existential threat to japan that would necessitate japan deploy its military China does not like that That is really yes Yes, yes, they literally said Taiwan Contingency would necessitate japanese military involvement and this is why japan need to militarize To contain rising China so China does not like this at all first of all you know because the history of war two and because Particularly regarding the status of ty one because when touch China lost the first sino-Japanese war in 1894 In 1895 China had to see the island of ty one to japan

42:38um and that That ty one remain a japanese colony for 50 years until the end of war two The would when when ty one was returned to China, so so when when japan raising the issue of ty one again Like chai chai disc government wouldn't ballistic. They're like no Remember the enemy class the enemy nation closet in the u.n. jar Remember all we can do and so this is why talk at each you went to u.n. Uh We're peaceful more peaceful nation. We we produce anime. Please get rid of that class It's like we made bleach and full of metal alchemists. Obviously we were a peaceful nation. We don't need this clause. Oh, that is wild. Wow, that is wild. I remember the Taiwan issue. And I do remember them saying something about Taiwan. And to your point, it's like, because my first question will be, OK, who do you need a military for? Now, I know when I asked this question, that pretty much every country has a military. I would argue the military is beating hard of a nation.

43:41But it's like, dude, you committed atrocities on a massive scale. There are consequences for that. And maybe they can point to Germany. So which countries would you need to reunify it? Which they haven't really fully accepted responsibility for it, unlike Germany. Germany was the case when the German Prime Minister went to Warsaw and he nailed down in front of the commemoration of the Holocaust victims and stuff. So that made it more, OK, people accepted that was sincere apology. Today, it's a crime to glorify Nazis in Germany. It's a crime. You can't display Nazi flags there. But in Japan, they have this whole ass shrine, Yasukuni Shrine. That's dedicated to all the war heroes or war two, including 14 class, a war criminal who are inshwine in the Yasukuni Shrine.

44:47And the Japanese Prime Minister have been paying visit to that shrine every time. You imagine the German Prime Minister go pay visit to commemoration. Or the Black Lives Matters in general, right? That would be insane. And so they, wow, so Japan has never really reconciled what they did in that war and how bad they were in that war. Right now, Japan pulls himself as a victim of war two because of the bomb. Because they, I don't know. The two nuclear bombs. Why was the new, why was the new drop in the first place? Let's not get into details. But we are also victims because we're kind of new. Because like, wait a minute, why did they drop that new? Okay, dude, you're straying from the point. Let's talk about us being victims. Oh, that's amazing. Wow. Yeah, I guess there would be an issue for China.

45:48And I guess they would think they would feel some kind of way about that. Considering it's like, dude, you haven't reconciled what you've done. And now you're trying to basically go back to where you were before. And Germany is trying to go back to where it was before. Yeah, it's worrying. I mean, it is worrying. Carl, great breakdown is always. I always enjoy these conversations about audience. Enjoy the conversations. I hope it's not too much for you. I hope you also enjoy it. But I thank you, man. Like I said, you have my appreciation for joining me and breaking the shutdown for us. Carl Ja, host, silk and steel podcasts focused on China and surrounding regions their history, culture and their politics. You can follow Carl on Twitter at Carl Ja. You can follow his podcast at Steel, Silk, and the letter in. You can also subscribe to support them on patreon.com slash silk and steel. Carl, you have my thanks. You have a safe night, man. Thank you for this. Thank you, Jerman. Anytime. Bye, bye. All righty. All right.

46:49Shout out to Carl. Great breakdown is always funny, informative. It's win-win.