I feel somewhat obligated to respond to the latest Washington Post poll on American views of China. It’s not that I think it’s a good poll or that the results matter to most people, but the whole US-China perception subject is one of my “things.” Moreover, these ridiculous polls have a tendency to have an exaggerated effect on policy making. So here goes.

First, the questions themselves. (more…)

The Christian Science Monitor online has guest bloggers. I don’t know what their editorial policy is on content, but the piece written by UCLA econ professor Matthew Kahn, an expert on environmental issues, is a classic example of juvenile China bashing. I know that the University of California is having budget problems, but I had no idea that the quality of their faculty had dropped this far, this fast.

I am being snarky. Kahn is a well-known economist trained at the University of Chicago. Why he indulges in such abhorrent, idiotic behavior though, and why the CS Monitor would allow this crap on its site, is puzzling to say the least. (more…)

The latest from Thomas Friedman in the New York Times:

Of the festivals of nonsense that periodically overtake American politics, surely the silliest is the argument that because Washington is having a particularly snowy winter it proves that climate change is a hoax and, therefore, we need not bother with all this girly-man stuff like renewable energy, solar panels and carbon taxes. Just drill, baby, drill.

Friedman’s answer to climate change, as usual, is green tech, and also as usual he sees China and India way ahead of the United States. These countries “get it”:

It is obviously going to be the next great global industry.

China, of course, understands that, which is why it is investing heavily in clean-tech, efficiency and high-speed rail. It sees the future trends and is betting on them. Indeed, I suspect China is quietly laughing at us right now.

I’m not so sure China is laughing at the U.S. over a comparative lack of gusto over green tech development. However, I would guess that China is amused that U.S. politicians, charged with coming up to solutions to energy problems, believe (or are pretending to believe) that a few snowstorms can be used to refute climate change theory.

Every once in a while, I begin to see the advantages of China’s preference for leaders with engineering and economics degrees.