Why Many Outside the West Don't Side with the US over China

[Truthseeker]

Caution:
Let any who think I defend USA foreign policy
be disabused of that impression. It's terrible.
But China's is worse (IMO).

Like I said above, I'm tired of "big power" competition over the years, which includes the US.

 

[Shaul]

Not to mention......

China Imports from United States was $180.97 Billion during 2021

U.S. goods imports from China totaled $434.7 billion in 2020

That is outdated. US Trade Gap Drops Sharply In July On Lower Imports
The trade deficit has been exaggerated by China’s policy of keeping its currency artificially low. In the long run this will hurt them and help the US.

 

[Shaul]

I want to make clear that I am tired of "big powers" trying to get the upper hand in the world. I live in the US, and I'm including us in that.

In my opinion the reason Putin is warring on Ukraine right now is to assert that that his country is among the leading powers, and to bring those "glorious" days back before when the Soviet Union broke up, and countries in Eastern Europe were under their control.

Going back further, The Soviet Union and the US were the big powers, and this led to the Vietnam War, and the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan.

Further back in time, Hitler was vying to take over Europe and Japan was aspiring to take over the Pacific area, in order for dominance in those regions.

Will we ever learn?

Actually the number of people dying in military conflicts has been shrinking for some time.
Globally, Deaths From War And Murder Are in Decline | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
Also most military deaths are from regional powers and conflicts, not super powers.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

Western countries are mostly aligned with the US, which is largely understandable due to shared interests and some strong common cultural elements. However, when I see black-and-white statements about how the rest of the world should oppose China and side with the US or how anyone who sides with China must be evil, I can't help feeling that such a view simply doesn't acknowledge the more comprehensive picture and the perspective of many outside the Western world.

China has significant investments in the Arab world, Africa, and Asia. Furthermore, from my perspective as an Arab and African person, China has historically been much less hostile to my region and people than Western powers like the US, UK, and France. In the last 100 years alone, the US has waged multiple wars on Arab and Asian countries. The UK and France both colonized Egypt near the beginning of the 20th century, and England only left Egypt in the '50s.

Between the severe exploitation of African and Arab nations, installation and support of dictatorships, and military aggression, what reason is there for Arab and African nations to side with the US over China? Yes, China has a litany of human rights abuses and is a dictatorship, but in addition to the fact that no global superpower is innocent, the domestic freedoms in the US simply have no bearing on its foreign policy.

What do I, an Arab and African national, gain from siding with the US over China just because the US has more domestic freedoms? When we look at foreign policy in the last 150 years, the US, UK, and France have been much more hostile, destructive, and exploitative toward my region than China has even come close to being.

So if the argument is that China is oppressive domestically, we could say the same about the US in terms of its foreign policy. If the argument is that China opposes democracy and independence of a sovereign nation in Taiwan, we could point to Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq as examples that the US and its closest allies are not much better or different.

This thread is meant to give a perspective that is far from uncommon where I live (in the Arab world), because sometimes I feel like some Western individuals and media outlets get so caught up in their own countries' interests and one-sided perspective that they fail to realize why many outside the West aren't so readily open to aligning themselves with them—as has been the case concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While I'm no fan of China, I simply see no reason to regard it as worse than the US as far as foreign policy goes and a few reasons to potentially regard it as actually better in that area (e.g., being less hawkish and less inclined to wage wars, at least in recent history). If anyone has an argument as to why I or anyone else in my part of the world should, I'm definitely open to hearing it.

Your OP arguments are sound @Debater Slayer , and I wish I had more time to discuss them now. The main counter-argument I would have initially, is what you somewhat “poo-pooed”. The internal freedoms. Democracy (albeit corrupted and twisted toward the conservative in the last 40 years) vs dictatorship, with oppression of freedoms and thought. Along with age.
The US has been powerful enough to extend its military will across the globe for most of the last century. But regardless of any naysaying, China is just getting out of bed. Their military is now rivaling the US, and where they seem to want to aim it is disturbing. I.e. Taiwan was and is a beaten domestic political group who just want to live in exile and be free. Also, China sides with, and likely supplies Russia in its unwarranted assault on the Ukraine. Before now they have only stayed local, supporting North Vietnam, North Korea, and suppressing their own citizens. They have stayed quiet…..but it ain’t pretty.

China is the new world power, and I believe that we are about to see them extend their might to many “hotspots” across the globe. And they won’t (even in pretense) be their to help the oppressed.