Made in China was conceived and born in the USA
‘American industry threw its healthy productive baby out with its excess capitalist bathwater’
Joe Biden met China’s leader Xi Jinping for the last time as president of the United States. Their weekend chat at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Peru included flashpoint issues such as Taiwan, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and Cold War risks.
“He expressed deep concern over [China’s] continued support for Russia’s defense industrial base [and] called for an end to destabilizing [Chinese] military activity around Taiwan,” the White House readout of Biden’s conversation confirmed.
Beijing’s “unfair trade policies” were also “emphasized,” while Washington “will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced US technologies from being used to undermine the national security of the United States or its partners.”
But what was not mentioned was China’s advanced manufacturing might. Or, how successive American presidents have presided over the demise of a once predominate industrial power more in tune with the 20th Century than the 21st.
Amazingly, that was left to a state-approved post at the bottom of an editorial about the Biden-Xi tête-à-tête in the Communist Party-controlled Global Times on Monday. It read:
China has become what it is today because American industry threw its healthy productive baby out with its excess capitalist bathwater decades ago. Instead of fearing and condemning China for having adopted and raised America’s discarded baby to become a strong and healthy adult, the US administration should be seeking parental guidance from China to nurture and raise what is now a sick and ailing American sibling – namely [its] industrial productive force.
Together with other yards, they are delivering on national defense.
Business Insider
Many would say that sounds like American arrogance with Chinese characteristics. But that statement has more than a grain of rice or two of truth. China is ahead in advanced green energy infrastructure for solar, wind power, and smaller nuclear reactors.
Out on its own:
- It has also left legacy American and European automakers, such as Ford, BMW, and Volkswagen, choking on clean air by dominating the electric vehicle sector.
- BYD, NIO, Xpeng, and GAC Aion, along with battery giant CATL, are out of sight in the EV race for global market share.
Delve deeper: China is also the world’s biggest commercial and military shipbuilder as derelict yards in the US only nurture weeds.
Between the lines: “Shipyards like Dalian, Huangpu Wenchong near Hong Kong, and the Jiangnan and Hudong-Zhonghua yards near Shanghai are all operated by [state] subsidiaries,” Business Insider reported at the weekend.
Big picture: “Together with other yards, they are delivering on national defense while dominating commercial shipbuilding. [At the same time,] the US Navy faces a critical problem, [following] the hollowing out of the American shipbuilding industry,” BI said.
China Factor comment: Even though the Chinese economy is in choppy waters, its vice-like grip on advanced manufacturing, heavy industry and the inertia of major democracies are like lifejackets to the drowning Communist Party.