The Encroaching Dragon

All empires have their twilight. New days come, new nations rise.

NYT: Chinese Move to Eclipse US Appeal in SE Asia

"But the trend is clear, educators and diplomats here say: the Americans are losing influence.

As China ramps up its cultural and language presence, Washington is ratcheting down, ceding territory that was virtually all its own when China was trapped in its hard Communist shell.

'The Chinese are actively expanding their public diplomacy while we are cutting back or just holding our own,' said Paul Blackburn, a former public affairs officer of the United States Information Service who served at four American embassies in Asia in the 1980's and 90's."

Don't mean to be a doom sayer, but we'll be playing second fiddle pretty soon here on the world stage. Better get used to it.