China Won the Economic War
Sean Foo & Glenn Diesen
The US needs vigorous industrial policies aided by temporary subsidies and possibly tariffs to re-industrialise and to compete technologically against China, yet the efforts to condense decades of development into a few years will not work. China has developed substantial autonomy over its supply chains, finance, and technologies, making it largely immune to economic coercion. While China can diversify away from the US, the US cannot diversify away from China. The economic war has effectively already been won.
Big fan, but I think it’s incorrect to presuppose that China was engaging in a trade war. If there’s one thing that substantially differentiates the East from the West, it’s this: in Asian civilization, war is not the norm. Life is not a battle , it may be for many in the West, but that’s not a global philosophy. China may have reacted to an economic attack by the U.S., but it did not engage in war. There was no winner in this; unfortunately, harm was done to businesses everywhere. No, China did not win the economic war. The U.S. shot itself in the foot, some might say in the head when it allowed $300 billion of Russian assets to be seized. That was the most deadly self-inflicted wound, even if it’s not the most obvious.
Your broadminded parade of who you interview why reminds one of what it was like to grow up in the West 60 years ago .
Refreshing to keep the brainwaves running .