US CHOOSES MAMMON AND WAR OVER VIRTUE, REAPS PREDICTABLE REWARD

Vince Dhimos answered a question at Quora.
 
Did the United States first normalize economic relations with China for any reasons other than economic advantage?
 
https://www.quora.com/Did-the-United-States-first-normalize-economic-relations-with-China-for-any-reasons-other-than-economic-advantage/answer/Vince-Dhimos
 
Vince Dhimos, Editor-in-Chief at New Silk Strategies (2016-present)
 
BEGIN QUORA ANSWER

I think the answer is yes. The ulterior motive was to use China as a counterweight against Russia and drive a wedge between the two nations. It was an epic fail.
 
Nixon was the first to come up with the idea of normalizing relations and trade with China. He did some rather strange things that were all conceptually inter-related: First he took the US off the gold standard, which was almost inevitable because too many countries were demanding gold instead of dollars. Then to deal with the crisis that this caused, he signed an agreement with Saudi King Faisal that created the petrodollar. It was effective in keeping the dollar afloat but immoral because it caused the US to engage in savage wars that pleased the Saudis but did not in any way benefit the US. (details here: https://www.quora.com/What-were-...). He then came up with the idea of free trade with China. It was the perfect complement to the petrodollar agreement because it would enable the US to use the free dollars printed thanks to the Saudis to buy cheap goods from China.This idea went into effect in the 80s after he was impeached and left office. The idea was sold as a way to reach the “world’s biggest market.” When China finally was awarded this status, the US people were told the Chinese would be buying billions of dollars worth of goods from the US. A good trade balance was expected by naive and gullible people. It was a negative balance from the start and that never changed. The architects of the plan had to know this. During the debate over Most Favored Nation status in the 80s, there was mention that China would become a counterweight to Russia as a result. Never happened either. I suspect that this idea of containing Russia using China as a counterweight was one of the ulterior motives of this deal. It was a bust all the way around.
 
This policy of free trade with China was also deeply immoral because China insisted that the US cut relations with Taiwan, forcing the US to betray one of its best friends and allies.
 
The consequences of these two deeply immoral acts, ie, signing the petrodollar agreement that traded immoral wars for a stable dollar, and betraying Taiwan for short-term economic gain, were a lesson that America experienced but never learned. It continues to discard virtue for short term gains and just plunges deeper and deeper into debt, war and irrelevance.
 
A poll among young people in the Middle East shows that this group now trusts Russia and mistrusts the US (ASIA – AFRICA Arab youth are less optimistic, drawn to Putin, and increasingly distant from the US). An international poll shows people everywhere saying that the US is the biggest threat to world peace on earth. It was taken in the Obama era but would rank the US even lower today (A new poll says these nations are the top 4 threats to world peace. Guess who's number one).
 
The nation has sold its soul by adopting a purely transactional view of the world and shoving virtue aside. The US is reaping its reward and shows no signs of repentance.
 
There is a way that seemeth right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death.
 

​END QUORA ANSWER
 
Relevant:
 
US support for murder, war based on misreading of the Bible
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/vince-on-quora-why-does-the-us-show-unwavering-support-for-israel-and-not-palestine
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/military-affairs/israel-just-admitted-it-wants-to-drag-the-us-into-war-with-iran
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/arguments-supporting-israeli-atrocities-are-crumbling
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/israels-right-to-existarabs-right-to-die
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/news--analysis/how-american-evangelicals-are-preventing-the-second-coming-sending-guns-not-gospel-to-israel
 
http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/international-relations/us-evangelical-christians-are-the-staunchest-supporters-of-israels-crimes