| - China had cheaper labor. They also have/had slave labor. Cheaper labor != slave labor. And China’s slave labor is a tiny proportion of their total labor and probably not comparable to American slave labor (ie prisoners). But today, China’s is one of the more expensive labor forces in Asia and yet it continues to dominate manufacturing because of the incredible supply chain they’ve setup and the skill and expertise they have. - “The debts” - That’s a bit rich considering the U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. And debts are not inherently bad, so I’m not sure what your point is. In fact, it’s essential for a growing entity. - “The Wastes” - Any marginally ambitious effort will have failures. One needs to look at the aggregate, and China, which has pulled a record number of people out of poverty in record time is by all measures had one of the most successful outcomes. - “The fuel was WTO” - I’m not sure what the complaint is here. Free trade under the WTO has made nearly every nation in the world immensely more wealthy than they would have been otherwise. And yes, this includes China. But it also includes the U.S. which is the richest society in the history of this planet, and until a few months ago was increasing its lead over China. It’s likely the attacks on the WTO and free trade in general by the current U.S. administration will isolate it from world trade and help China close the gap in GDP instead. - “export” - Yes, an export economy made China richer. On the flip side, it also made Americans immensely richer. Now, the fact that Americans chose to spend that wealth by concentrating it among the richest members of its nation is not a choice China is responsible for. - “rapid policy changes” - Thisnis not a bad thing as long as the policy changes are thoughtful changes in response to actual changes in our knowledge, unlike whatever the F the U.S. is doing right now. |