The stunning victory of Donald Trump has sharpened focus on America’s relationship with its only peer competitor, China.
Eight years ago, Trump had identified China as America’s primary threat and had acted to curb its economic rise. He did this by attempting to deny China market access to the US, through tariffs. This worked to some extent, and his successor, Joe Biden, continued the tariffs.
Mexico became the US’s largest trading partner this year, eclipsing China, which had held that position for a decade. Of course much of Mexico’s exports to the US were initially from China, so it is unclear what the actual damage to China has been.
Biden also took the next step towards trying to handicap China’s growth by denying it access to the most advanced microchips and the machinery used to design them. This was explained as a move aimed at China’s military capability, but the real reason is economic. China has responded by starting its own development of these goods, and experts estimate it is only a few years behind and will at some point catch up.
China is by far the global leader in electric vehicles and clean energy including solar panels. Meaning its products are priced competitively and often better than what is made in Europe and the US. Tesla owner Elon........