China Sags Because Russia Stumbles, While America Stirs

[I would like to thank my colleague David Sandel for bringing this forward. David and I were lead authors for “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-10-1610-3" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Smart Economy in Smart Cities</a>”, a Springer publication, which included analysis of Ottawa and St. Louis.] China’s social media hashtag “Putin accuses Wagner’s head of treason” hit 2.37 billion views overnight. Chinese netizens were tuning in to a shocking event rarely displayed in their social channels — a Russia that was quaking to its political foundations, beset by internal violence. China now perceives that Russia is unlikely to prevail against Ukraine; Russia will emerge from the conflict a much diminished power. Combined with this loss of comfort in the former image of Russia as a bulwark against a hostile America, the Chinese have been further shaken by recent American strides in Asia. As a baseline, China is a vulnerable country: it has a much smaller economy than we once thought; its cities are desperate and are hard-pressed to stay functioning; its demographics are running dry; and its population is currently getting restive. <a href="https://barry-gander.medium.com/china-sags-because-russia-stumbles-while-america-stirs-e1048a2a42b1">Learn More</a>