The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

In 2004, North Korea's exports to China reached 80 billion yuan, a record high, making China North Korea's largest trading partner.

Among them, the export of hair products reached 48 billion yuan, accounting for 60%.

China's exports to North Korea, excluding aid, are approximately RMB 80 to 85 billion per year.

It’s not that the North Korean market is small. After all, North Korea has a population of nearly 2400 million, so the market is not small.

But North Korea has no money!

The two sides use the RMB as the settlement currency, but North Korea does not have that much foreign exchange reserves.

In bilateral trade, North Korea's prices will be lower, but that does not mean that North Korea will be heavily in debt. At most, it will owe a small amount every year.

The economic integration of Northeast Asia is actually about expanding the market. When everyone develops, the market will also become bigger.

In the entire Northeast Asia, apart from China, the largest market is Japan, whose total economic output is now approximately US$3 trillion, while South Korea's is around US$1000 billion and North Korea's is approximately US$100 billion.

Although Ryukyu has only been an independent country for a few years, its total economic output is actually higher than that of North Korea.

Although Ryukyu does not have much industry, its fishery is very developed. It exports a large amount of seafood to China and Japan every year. Then there is the service industry. Since Ryukyu became an independent country, it has announced the legalization of gambling, which has attracted many people to travel to Ryukyu. Coupled with the unique ocean scenery, it also attracts a large number of tourists for travel and vacation.

Although Ryukyu has a population of only over one million, it was listed as a developed country last year.

In early April, the first Northeast Asia Summit was successfully held in Shenyang.

The theme of this summit is: Peace and Development!

It goes without saying that this is a discussion on regional peace and development in Northeast Asia.

Politicians, scholars, and business representatives from various countries gathered in Shenyang.

The benefits of Northeast Asian integration are naturally self-evident.

If this can be achieved, the integration of Northeast Asia and the economic scale of the entire region will surpass the North American Free Trade Area and the European Union to become the world's largest regional economy.

甚至于以华夏为核心，东北亚一体化、东盟+1一体化、南亚14+1一体化、中亚5+1一体化，那么区域经济总量将会远超北美自贸区和欧盟。

The population involved will be over two billion.

The entire region has no shortage of energy, industry, etc.

Even from a military perspective, it is the most powerful!
The business opportunities contained here are naturally self-evident.

Although this road is destined to be full of thorns and not easy to walk on, as long as there is an opportunity, it is worth the effort.

Among them, Ryukyu is the most active.

The United States will have complete military bases in Okinawa this year, and the U.S. military will then withdraw.

The population of Ryukyu is only over one million, and its armed forces are still under construction, so it mainly relies on the protection of major powers.

Ryukyu is quite wary of Japan.

Even now, there are still a large number of people in Japan who are eyeing Ryukyu and want to swallow it back.

South Korea and Japan are huge compared to Ryukyu, but at the same time, South Korea and Japan are also tiny compared to big countries. There is no need to say more. As long as it is liberalized, Ryukyu can become the richest region in the world just by relying on the gambling industry.

We can learn from Macau in this regard.

Moreover, Ryukyu is now a transit point for Northeast Asian trade, and many ships will stop and replenish at Ryukyu ports.

There is a easing of tensions between North Korea and South Korea.

The two sides no longer viewed each other as an enemy country, nor did they talk about unification, but for the first time, they became brother countries.

For North Korea, it also needs good external conditions to provide opportunities for its internal development.

North Korea's terrain is not friendly. The main plains are the Pyongyang Plain and the Sunan Plain. The Pyongyang Plain covers an area of ​​950 square kilometers and the Sunan Plain covers an area of ​​190 square kilometers. The two major plains cover an area of ​​1140 square kilometers, accounting for only about % of North Korea's land area.

This has also led to North Korea's agricultural development being less than satisfactory. Coupled with the lack of fertilizers, North Korea's grain production is not even enough to feed the entire population of North Korea.

South Korea is currently engaged in export-intensive industries, mainly exporting to Europe and the United States, and partly to China, but its product competitiveness is relatively limited. South Korea's agricultural production is limited, so a lot of South Korea's food, vegetables, and meat have to be imported from China. South Korea's food, vegetables, and meat are relatively expensive.

The top ten chaebols almost monopolize the entire South Korea. Others have no chance to stand out, and almost no companies can emerge from the top ten chaebols.

South Korea sent troops to participate in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to the United States, the highest command of the South Korean army was in the hands of the Americans. Another important reason was that South Korea hoped to take this opportunity to expand exports to the United States and obtain some oil fields and natural gas in Iraq.

If Northeast Asia can be integrated and the entire market can be opened to South Korea, South Korea will inevitably be able to take up more market share, thereby further developing the South Korean economy.

South Korea is an export-oriented economy and is highly dependent on exports.

Due to the high oil prices in recent years, South Korea's economy appears weak. After all, rising oil and natural gas prices will inevitably lead to higher production costs, and the cost of living will also increase accordingly.

For Russia, this is naturally beneficial to Russia. The most obvious thing is that Russia can export more energy, more mineral resources, timber, food, etc.

For Russia, the most important is Europe, because Russia has always considered itself a member of Europe. The second is Asia, because China is an extremely important energy export destination for Russia, and is also an important export destination for Russia's minerals, timber, and food. China is Russia's largest trading partner, and the trade volume between the two sides has repeatedly set new highs, and this growth is higher than the trade between Russia and Europe.

The economies of the two countries are highly complementary.

However, Russia's geopolitical considerations also make it always worried.

Russia's Far East, Outer Mongolia, and the five Stan countries in Central Asia are all things Russia has to consider.

But as the saying goes, the world is bustling with people because of profit, and the world is bustling with people because of profit!
Faced with the strength of the United States, Russia has to compromise on some issues in order to reach a consensus on certain aspects.

Russia is also seeking a multipolar world.

For Russia, the best option is to restore the territory of the Soviet era, which is the only choice for Russia to become the world hegemon.

But it is easy to separate, but it is not so easy to get back together.

The two sides can no longer even maintain the CIS form.

If you don't agree with each other in heart, you will eventually dislike each other.

Although Russia is stronger, it also has to consider external factors.

Times have changed after all! (End of this chapter)