Renowned Russian Academic Karaganov: ‘The U.S. Helped China Build Its Current Strength; When They [The U.S.] Came To Their Senses, It Was Too Late’
MESOP WATCH MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9700
On November 8, 2021, the Russian media outlet Voenno-Promyshlenny Kurier (Military-Industrial Courier) published an interview with renowned Russian academic Sergey Karaganov, Academic Supervisor of the Faculty of World Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics, Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and former foreign policy advisor to Russia’s Presidential Administration (2001-2013).
In the interview, Karaganov, one of Russia’s most authoritative economists and political scientists, stated that in the medium-term China would triumph over the U.S.: “In a decade or so, China will have a nuclear arsenal comparable to that of the United States and Russia, plus a giant navy. And this will be the end of America’s hegemony.” He added that Russia’s interest is in continuing and developing friendly relations with China.
Further stressing that the U.S.’s power is in decline because of its own mistakes and “dazzling stupidity,” Karaganov said: “ The [U.S. believed] that by [helping China in] developing economically and becoming increasingly capitalist, China will become more democratic, and therefore less governable, and eventually will fall in with the West politically. And so the U.S. helped China build its current strength. When they [the U.S.] came to their senses, it was too late.”
Below is the interview with Karaganov:
‘The Main Process That Is Now Taking Place In The World Is The Loss By The West Of Its Previous Positions’
Q: “I have a feeling that the world economy has gone crazy. Sanctions, trade wars, all sorts of demands like ‘pump gas through Ukraine, and then we will buy it.’ Green energy. The NASDAQ stock exchange has demanded that all companies trading on it should have representatives of sexual minorities on their boards of directors. These are things that have nothing to do with the economy, but which nevertheless affect it. Am I the only one who feels this way or is it really so?”
Karaganov: “Indeed, all this seems strange to people who, after vulgar liberals and vulgar Marxists, believed that the economy was the main determining factor. But economic interests are only one of the factors that influence the behavior of persons, not to mention the behavior of societies and countries. At some point, we all believed in the myth that ‘it is the economy, stupid’ (allegedly Clinton said that). But human history does not prove this. So everything is just falling back into place now. Yes, people are driven by economic interests, but when they are partially satisfied, when at the bare minimum no one starves, they turn to other interests like security, national pride, ideological views, cultural stereotypes and needs, that is, phenomena and values of a higher order.”