Although the rest of the world has already celebrated the Christmas and the New Year’s Eve, China is still preparing for the New Year celebration, as it uses its own Chinese calendar.
In China, this holiday is celebrated in accordance with the lunar calendar. It is called Chunjie, the Spring Festival. In 2018, these festivities will fall on the night of February 15 to 16 which will bring the wolrd the year of the Yellow Dog. From than moment on, we shall all enjoy the protection of the Dog.
The fact that this animal is traditionally percieved as the protector in the 12-year Chinese animal zodiac cycle from ancient times until the present day should be of little surprise to anyone. Suffice it to say that the ancient Egyptians treated dogs with outmost respect. Anubis, the god that would, according to their believes, would accompany a deceased person from the world of the living to the world of the dead was depicted as a a man with a canine head. Images that depict this trip were to be found on the on sarcophagus containing the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs.
As for the European artistic tradion, it goes without saying that around here a dog has always been a consistency indicator . Certain aristocrats would go as far as to order portraits of their pets. Dogs that are depicted in the classic biblical paintings are supposed to represent one’s fidelity’s to Christ, along with one’s faithfulness to sermons. Dogs have always been faithful companions that would accompany a person all through his life.
2018 Prophecies
Unlike most other prothets that have been making rather grimp prophecies for the year ahead, warning us of natural disasters, wars and political crisises that are allegedly about to happen, Chinese astrologers are convinced that the coming year will be much calmer than the previous one that was patronized by the bellicose fiery Rooster.
It is noteworthy that the famous Bulgarian prophetess, the blind Vangelia Pandeva Gushterova, that became known acorss the world as Baba Vanga, would predict the war in Syria, Brexit and a great many of other major events, was convinced that in 2018 China would become a new superpower, while pushing the United States aside.
As for the Chinese population one can often hear its members saying that their ultimate god is money, so it’s no wonder that for decades they have been mimicking foreign customs to the best of their ability, hoping that this will bring them wealth.
China and the world domination
We’re living in a world where international politics is often shifty, wehre a strong often feels entitled to dictate his will to a weak one. Ever since 1944, when the Bretton Woods agreement propelled the United States to the position of the hegemon, we’re living in a world shapped by the dollar. The dollar has been dominating the world economy for more than 70 years now, but in a great many countries of the world, especially in oil-producing ones, de-dollarization rethorics has never ceased to be popular. By this point in history both China and Russia have managed to accumulate enough gold reserves to trade oil in their respective national, which represents a major threat to the dominant positions dollar has been occupying for so long. Western elites are fully aware of this fact, but still they find unable to somehow address this situation. The leading Singaporean gold trader and precious metals expert Ronan Manly, that has become known to the world as BullionStar, has recently noted that the gold accumulation by China and Russia can be seen as a step towards the liberation of the world from the dictates of the United States.
At the beginning of his second five-year term, China’s President, Xi Jinping announced that Beijing should make the gradual transition to “qualitative growth” its top priority. Last year, China’s economy has almost returned its amazing 7% GDP growth, which resulted in the IMF raising China’s growth forecast several times, while admiting the contribution Beijin made to the acceleration of the world economy.
It’s curious that the Washington Post would state in one of its articles (emphasis added):
The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial “Science & Engineering Indicators,” a voluminous document describing the state of American technology. There are facts and figures on research and development, innovation and engineers. But the report’s main conclusion lies elsewhere: China has become — or is on the verge of becoming — a scientific and technical superpower.
From a purely regional power China has transformed itself into a major global power, but it has been repeatedly stressed that it will not dicate its will to the world either alone or together with the United States. China neither an ally nor an enemy of the US, it is somewhere in the middle.
China and the international alignment of forces
In times when the political map of the world is being subjected to a major overhaul, yesterday’s aliances count for nothing as the world is being reshaped. As China takes center stage in the international politics, the autority it can exercise grows in front of our own eyes.
This results in both the South-East Asia and the Middle East getting an ever increasing amount of international attention as China moves to approach regional powers in a bid to establish mutually beneficially cooperation. The Middle East is one of the three most strategically important regions of the world, as it’s not just rich in resources, but can become an indispensable link in the Chinese One Belt, One Road global initiative. As China’s gets involved in the region economically, this country’s image of a world power is gradually being established.
But the Middle East occupies a much more important role in China’s global designs, as it can serve as a shield that can allow Beijing to put stake in the hearts of the “three forces of evil” (terrorism, extremism, and separatism) thus bolstering its national security. The Middle East has already become a pivotal region for China, so it’s no wonder that regional affairs are going to have far reaching consequences for the rest of the world.
Nevertheless, China hasn’t escaped and the countries controversies and disagreements in approaching regional powers, because a number of them prefer to improve diplomatic relations with China, while keeping an eye on the United States. The US is terrified by the prospects of China getting deeply involved in the Middle East affairs, as it will force Washington into abandoning its status of the regional leader. That is why China’s Middle East strategy in this region faces many challenges that must be overcome. It is possible that the Chinese way of adressing problems will replace the one America’s been using and that it will get universal approval on the international stage.
China is the “enemy of the United States”
The string of highly successful stempts that China has been able to make provokes undisguised jealousy in Washington, as a result of which the head of the American state, Donald Trump, announced that he is in no position to rule out an all-out trade war against China. We’re witnessing signs of preparations for this war, as it is being mentioned in the speeches that American military and political figures are making. Moreover, the main focus of the US military opposition is shifting from the goal of getting Russia encircled to the containment of China as well.
But let us, after seeing year of aggressive and bellicose Rooster, hope that the the Year of the Yellow Dog, that is about to come, will be be much less tense and belligerent. As for China and its hard-working people, we wish them a year of successes and prosperity for the benefit of the whole world.
Grete Mautner is an independent researcher and journalist from Germany, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”