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“Nothing could be more gentle and equitable than the conduct of the Romans in the beginning. They acted with the utmost moderation toward such states and nations as addressed them for protection; they succored them against their enemies, took the utmost pains in terminating their differences, and in suppressing all commotions which arose among them, and did not demand the least recompence from their allies for all these services. By this means their authority gained strength daily, and prepared the nations for entire subjection.
“And, indeed, upon pretense of offering them their good offices, of entering into their interests, and of reconciling them, they rendered themselves the sovereign arbiters of those whom they had restored to liberty, and whom they now considered, in some measure, as their freedmen. They used to depute commissioners to them, to inquire into their complaints, to weigh and examine the reasons on both sides, and to decide their quarrels; but when the articles were of such a nature that there was no possibility of reconciling them on the spot, they invited them to send their deputies to Rome. Afterward, they used, with plenary authority, to summon those who refused to be reconciled, obliged them to plead their cause before the senate, and even to appear in person there. From arbiters and mediators being become supreme judges, they soon assumed a magisterial tone, looked upon their decrees as irrevocable decisions, were greatly offended when the most implicit obedience was not paid to them, and gave the name of rebellion to a second resistance; thus there arose, in the Roman senate, a tribunal which judged all nations and kings, from which there was no appeal. This tribunal, at the end of every war, determined the rewards and punishments due to all parties. They dispossessed the vanquished nations of part of their territories, in order to bestow them on their allies, by which they did two things from which they reaped a double advantage; for they thereby engaged in the interest of Rome such kings as were in no way formidable to them, and from whom they had something to hope; and weakened others, whose friendship the Romans could not expect, and whose arms they had reason to dread.
“We shall hear one of the chief magistrates in the republic of the Achaians inveigh strongly in a public assembly against this unjust usurpation, and ask by what title the Romans are empowered to assume so haughty an ascendent over them; whether their republic was not as free and independent as that of Rome; by what right the latter pretended to force the Achaians to account for their conduct; whether they would be pleased, should the Achaians, in their turn, officially pretend to inquire into their affairs, and whether matters ought not to be on the same footing on both sides? All these reflections were very reasonable, just, and unanswerable; and the Romans had no advantage in the question but force.
“Nothing could be more gentle and equitable than the conduct of the Romans in the beginning. They acted with the utmost moderation toward such states and nations as addressed them for protection; they succored them against their enemies, took the utmost pains in terminating their differences, and in suppressing all commotions which arose among them, and did not demand the least recompence from their allies for all these services. By this means their authority gained strength daily, and prepared the nations for entire subjection. PRUS 152.3
“And, indeed, upon pretense of offering them their good offices, of entering into their interests, and of reconciling them, they rendered themselves the sovereign arbiters of those whom they had restored to liberty, and whom they now considered, in some measure, as their freedmen. They used to depute commissioners to them, to inquire into their complaints, to weigh and examine the reasons on both sides, and to decide their quarrels; but when the articles were of such a nature that there was no possibility of reconciling them on the spot, they invited them to send their deputies to Rome. Afterward, they used, with plenary authority, to summon those who refused to be reconciled, obliged them to plead their cause before the senate, and even to appear in person there. From arbiters and mediators being become supreme judges, they soon assumed a magisterial tone, looked upon their decrees as irrevocable decisions, were greatly offended when the most implicit obedience was not paid to them, and gave the name of rebellion to a second resistance; thus there arose, in the Roman senate, a tribunal which judged all nations and kings, from which there was no appeal. This tribunal, at the end of every war, determined the rewards and punishments due to all parties. They dispossessed the vanquished nations of part of their territories, in order to bestow them on their allies, by which they did two things from which they reaped a double advantage; for they thereby engaged in the interest of Rome such kings as were in no way formidable to them, and from whom they had something to hope; and weakened others, whose friendship the Romans could not expect, and whose arms they had reason to dread. PRUS 152.4
“We shall hear one of the chief magistrates in the republic of the Achaians inveigh strongly in a public assembly against this unjust usurpation, and ask by what title the Romans are empowered to assume so haughty an ascendent over them; whether their republic was not as free and independent as that of Rome; by what right the latter pretended to force the Achaians to account for their conduct; whether they would be pleased, should the Achaians, in their turn, officially pretend to inquire into their affairs, and whether matters ought not to be on the same footing on both sides? All these reflections were very reasonable, just, and unanswerable; and the Romans had no advantage in the question but force.
“But be this as it will, we see by the event, to what this so much boasted lenity and moderation of the Romans was confined. Enemies to the liberty of all nations, having the utmost contempt for kings and monarchy, looking upon the whole universe as their prey, they grasped, with insatiable ambition, the conquest of the whole world; they seized indiscriminately all provinces and kingdoms, and extended their empire over all nations; in a word, they prescribed no other limits to their vast projects, than those which deserts and seas made it impossible to pass.”
The expansion fever which laid such firm hold upon the people of the Roman republic has come upon the people of the republic of the United States. In both cases the game of the despoliation of nations and peoples has opened with a war “solely in the cause of humanity.” In the former instance, the Romans did declare the people of the small Greek republics free and independent. The United States has not yet even done this much. The republics of Greece never became free. The “war for humanity” never gave them their liberty. They soon found, and that to their bitter disappointment, that they had only exchanged masters, and that the little finger of Rome was thicker than the loins of Philip of Macedon, and that if the king had chastised them with whips, the republic chastised them with scorpions. They soon found to their intense sorrow that in the “war for humanity” there had been a transfer made, and that they had been the subject of barter. It did not take them long to discover that they had only acquired a slavery more abject and complete than that which they had endured under their previous ruler. It was as much more complete as Rome was more powerful than Macedon.
Adapted from the book the Perils of the Republic of the United States of America by Percy Magan Tilson,1899
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1619.730#752
China witnessed $17.5 billion value of portfolio outflows final month, an all-time excessive, based on most up-to-date information from the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The US-based commerce affiliation known as this capital flight by abroad investors “unprecedented,” particularly as there have been no comparable outflows from different rising markets throughout this era. The outflows included $11.2 billion in bonds, whereas the relaxation had been equities.
Data from the Chinese authorities additionally confirmed a file bond-market retreat by overseas investors in current months. Overseas investors offloaded a internet 35 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) of Chinese authorities bonds in February, the largest month-to-month discount on file, based on China Central Depository and Clearing. The sell-off accelerated in March, hitting a brand new excessive of 52 billion yuan ($8.1 billion).
“China’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine was clearly the catalyst for capital to leave China,” stated George Magnus, an affiliate at the China Centre at Oxford University and former chief economist for UBS.
China and Russia proclaimed in February that their friendship had “no limits.” That was earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, with Russia’s economic system being slammed with sanctions from throughout the world, Beijing has not rushed to assist out its northern neighbor, fearing that it too could get caught up in sanctions. But it has additionally refused to condemn Russia’s assault on Ukraine, searching for to portray itself as a neutral actor and blaming the situation on the United States.
“There is nervousness about China’s ambiguous, but Russia-leaning stance on the Ukraine conflict, which raises worries that China could be targeted by sanctions if it helps Russia,” stated Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who has studied China’s economic system and US-China relations.
The war in Ukraine has additionally heightened concerns about the threat that China may improve its army drive towards Taiwan, triggering a massive flight of capital from the Asian island.
But geopolitical pressure is not the solely motive behind the exodus. The charge hike in the United States and China’s strict Covid-related lockdowns have additionally performed a task in scaring investors.
The US Federal Reserve is rising interest rates for the first time since 2018 to tame inflation, whereas the People’s Bank of China has entered an easing cycle to bolster its faltering economic system. That means China appears much less engaging to investors compared with the United States. Earlier this month, yields on China’s 10-year authorities bond fell beneath US Treasury yields for the first time in 12 years. And the yuan hit a six-month low towards the US greenback.
“The rise in interest rates, especially in the US, makes the nominal return associated with Chinese fixed income assets less attractive on a relative basis,” Chorzempa stated.
Furthermore, Beijing’s unwavering commitment to its zero Covid policy has taken a large financial toll, and elevated uncertainties about future progress.
“The economy is enfeebled and being made worse by government actions and by zero Covid policies,” stated Magnus.
China’s economic system slowed sharply in March — consumption slumped for the first time in additional than a yr, whereas unemployment in 31 main cities surged to a file excessive — as escalating Covid lockdowns in Shanghai and different main cities severely hit progress and provide chains.
Some economists are even speaking about the possibility of a recession this quarter, as Beijing appears decided to carry on to its zero Covid coverage regardless of the hefty value.
A lot of funding banks have slashed their forecasts for China’s full-year progress in the previous week. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday minimize its progress forecast for China to 4.4%, down from 4.8%, citing dangers from Beijing’s strict zero Covid coverage. This is nicely beneath China’s official forecast of around 5.5%.
Confusion about the future
With these worries mounting, some fund managers and analysts have began questioning whether or not they need to put money into China in any respect.
“China is seeing deep foreign capital outflows as doubts increase regarding its basic investability,” stated Brock Silvers, managing director for Kaiyuan Capital, a personal fairness funding agency primarily based in Shanghai.
The pandemic is not the solely motive behind China’s slowdown. A number of the nation’s present financial ache could be traced again to the sweeping regulatory crackdown on the personal sector, which was unleashed by President Xi Jinping in 2020. There are fears that the authorities will proceed to clampdown on sectors starting from training to know-how this yr.
“Global investors don’t want to play regulatory guessing games or worry that tomorrow’s news may deplete another otherwise attractive company or business model,” Silvers stated.
The velocity and ferocity with which authorities have acted towards personal enterprise have startled even the closest China watchers.
A algorithm unveiled final July primarily shut down the $120 billion private tutoring industry, placing tens of 1000’s of corporations out of enterprise. Another determination by regulators to ban Didi — the nation’s largest ride-hailing app -— days after its US IPO shocked worldwide investors and cost them dearly. The crackdown resulted in a steep sell-off in Chinese stocks worldwide.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon index, a preferred index that tracks greater than 90 US-listed Chinese corporations, misplaced 31% in the third quarter of 2021, the worst quarter on file. It then shed one other 14% in the remaining quarter of final yr. By comparability, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and 11% respectively in the third and fourth quarters of final yr. The Nasdaq Composite additionally surged 8% in the remaining quarter of 2021.
Some of the cash flowing out of China might have gone into US greenback belongings, whereas there is additionally “a notable switch from China to India,” based on Qi Wang, chief funding officer for MegaTrust Investment in Hong Kong.
Shrinking urge for food
The crackdown on the personal sector has additionally impacted personal fairness funds that target China.
Funds that increase US {dollars} to put money into China solely attracted $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, down 70% from the earlier quarter, based on Preqin, a London-based funding information agency.
A separate survey by Bain & Company confirmed that Greater China-focused personal fairness funds attracted $28 billion in new funding for the second half of final yr, down 54% from the first half, as world investors are more and more involved about political and financial uncertainty in the Chinese market.
“Looking ahead, about 55% of respondents expect the [fundraising] situation to be more challenging in next 12 months,” stated Kai Zhong, a supervisor on the China Private Equity staff at Bain & Company.
On the fence
However, whereas bond and fairness funds could also be slashing their publicity to China, there’s proof that world corporations are persevering with to put money into Chinese companies.
Foreign direct funding inflows to China hit a file excessive of $173 billion in 2021, up 20% from the earlier yr, based on information from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Chorzempa famous that the file FDI got here although “the regulatory uncertainty and a darkening view among policymakers outside of China was already highly salient.”
“So it is not clear whether the data from the last two months represents a paradigm shift or more of a temporary recalibration to a still very strong investment relationship, especially with Europe,” he stated.
According to an annual survey performed by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China final yr, solely 9% of almost 600 European corporations working in China deliberate on shifting any present or deliberate funding out of China, the lowest share on file.
Still, there are indicators that a few of them have turn out to be anxious about China’s zero Covid coverage.
Earlier this week, China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao met with a couple of overseas chambers to debate the affect of the nation’s zero Covid coverage.
Jens Hildebrandt, govt director of the German Chamber of Commerce in North China, advised CNN Business that the individuals raised some urgent points member corporations are dealing with associated to the Covid-containment technique, particularly in Shanghai.
An ongoing lockdown in Shanghai — a serious enterprise and manufacturing hub — has pressured most companies to close down for weeks, threatening to disrupt key provide chains for autos and electronics. It has additionally made port delays worse and compelled the suspension of many passenger flights, sending air freight charges hovering and placing much more stress on world provide chains.
“The current policy with lockdowns leading to productions stops, logistic and supply chain disruptions and restrictions on the movement of people do not only pose a short-term concern, but will leave their marks on the long run,” Hildebrandt stated in an emailed response to CNN Business.
“As foreign companies are suffering economically, we are looking for clear signals on how the Chinese government will help to ease the burden through relief programs,” he added.
Pehal News Team
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