Nik Stankovic is a Serbian geopolitical strategist who lived for 10 years in the United States and 15 years in China.
I’ve never been to Serbia, and it’s not very high on my to-do list, but maybe I’ll visit one day. Admittedly, I know very little about it.
Asian century
Have you heard about the ‘Asian century‘?
The term ‘Asian century’ refers to the idea that the 21st century will be dominated by Asia, particularly economically and politically. For years, Western nations, mainly the US and Europe, held the reins of global power with the help of globalist organisations like NATO.
But Asia, with countries like China and India leading the charge, is rising fast.
Their economies are booming, their influence is spreading, and their populations are massive, making them global heavyweights.
The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organised violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.
Samuel P Huntington (American political scientist)
I was in China a few months ago and found it on a completely different level. As an African, I’m accustomed to poverty, but I saw very little, if any, over there.
China’s rapid industrial growth and India’s booming tech sector are key drivers of this shift.
⚠️ Just so that we’re clear: China is not communist.
It can’t be.
Why?
Because communism is an economic system where the state owns the means of production, and private property is abolished. This is not the case in China, as explained by an American economist living in China, whose conversation with me I strongly recommend you listen to. In fact, China is more capitalist than America.
Yes, it has a single-party government, and yes, citizens don’t vote (which I agree with), and yes, the CPC has ‘communist’ in its name, but the economy doesn’t fit the definition of communism by a long shot.
Basically, the Asian century means that the East will take over. This takeover is not just about money and power. It’s also about culture, technology, and geopolitics. In my home, for example, most of the tech is made in China, not America.
The Western way won’t disappear, but it will face strong competition from Asian models of success and innovation, which is why China is constantly being touted as the global enemy.
- ‘China is the enemy of the world and has nobody to blame but itself’ – Yahoo News, April 2024.
- ‘China is the greatest threat to freedom, says US intelligence chief’ – BBC, 2021.
- ‘China is an enemy of the UK. Why not admit it?’ – The Telegraph, May 2024.
- ‘China has made its first strike on the West’ – The Telegraph, August 2023.
- ‘China is unleashing economic warfare against the West’ – The Telegraph, May 2024.
This shift is also called ‘multipolarity,’ often including terms like ‘BRICS‘ and ‘global south.’
There is an incredible amount of misunderstanding of not just Asia, but actually China.
Nik Stankovic
Conversation
Talking points
- Reasons for moving to China
- Propaganda about China
- Daily life in China
- Comparing government systems
- China’s approach to governance
- Learning from the Chinese
- Perception versus reality
- The chess game between the United States and China
Just go there
People get trapped in their internet and social media bubbles, disconnected from reality without realising it. I have found that the most effective way to break apart anti-China narratives is to, well, just go there.
Nothing beats personal experience.
Which is what I did shortly before recording this podcast with Nik: I went there.
The decline of the West is not just a hypothesis. It’s a reality that we have to face.
Viktor Orbán (Hungarian Prime Minister)
