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Re:As Last Module Docks, China Completes Its Space Station by FooBarWidget on Wednesday November 02, 2022 @05:06AM (#33433028)
Your view of China is 10 years behind reality. Corruption was a huge problem, it is still somewhat of a problem, but corruption has reduced significantly and continues to reduce. As for "nobody else trusting them": based on what evidence? Foreign investment into China is at an all-time high. Recent research has shown that while sentiments about China has become much more negative in the west, sentiment in the rest of the world — accounting for 80% of humanity — has become much more positive.

> In China, quick public successes always take precedence over doing it right.

I'd like to see some evidence for this huge, unnuanced claim. Of course they have an incentive to look good. So do companies all over the world. But to claim that that's all they do is to ignore the elephant in the room, namely 40 years of growth in prosperity that's unprecedented in human history.

Re:As Last Module Docks, China Completes Its Space Station by bayesian_horse on Wednesday November 02, 2022 @06:20AM (#33433594)
The ISS collaborators have banned Chinese astronauts. The system is a dictatorship, Xi Jinping has a bigger personality course than Mao. The real estate industry is a mess, mostly because of corruption. "Tofu" projects are rampant. The High Speed rail is too expensive and has the same "Tofu" construction problem (=corruption).

Corruption is still a major problem and there is no signs it has gotten better. African Swine Flu as an example can't be contained because that would need unbribeable enforcement. No-Covid only works (in the enforcement sense) because of draconian penalties. Cronyism is an epidemic disease in itself, you can't advance in China, no matter your qualifications, if you aren't highly connected, and most aren't.

Yes, I'm speaking in broad terms. But I did predict a glass ceiling years ago, because the lack of openness means terrible risk management and sophisticated risk management is crucial for sustained exponential. It has finally happened, growth in China shrank after Covid and the recovery is worse than in the rest of the world.

If you need a reason not to trust China look at what happened to Hong Kong with all the promises made by CCP leadership. Look at the CCP attempts to shape policy, including in western universities. Look at the genocide against the Uyghurs. Look at the issue of organ harvesting, which is partly propaganda and partly the CCP itself hinders any attempts to actually disprove the allegations with their lack of transparency. I am forced to consider the CCP as evil-doers in the same order of magnitude as Nazi Germany. And that is before they try and retake Taiwan, which will be an unbelievably bloody business.

Re:As Last Module Docks, China Completes Its Space Station by AlchemistCamp on Thursday November 03, 2022 @05:17AM (#33448695)
> sentiment in the rest of the world — accounting for 80% of humanity — has become much more positive.

India is 1/6 of the world's population and its media sentiment towards China has been trending sharply downwards over the past few years.

Re:As Last Module Docks, China Completes Its Space Station by FooBarWidget on Thursday November 03, 2022 @10:32AM (#33451588)
You can read the Cambridge University research yourself: https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications/a-world-...