It's how you want to balance geopolitics, economics, and everyone else.
For example, in the US, there has been a large consolidation of companies over the last 40-50 years or so (less competition) and all the while there is a wealth gap that is large. Japanese cars were the first post-World War II threat in economics to the US that really could "hurt" an industry. There was a massive wave of anti-Japanese car sentiment. "Need to protect American jobs!"
In the end, the Japanese are just better at making cars (smaller sedans anyway) that were popular among Americans. The Big 3 in America offshored a bunch of jobs, lost market share around the world, and two of them took a government bailout.
The ideal world of high wages, union work, and everyone having affordable products doesn't work in America with a current state of government malaise as well. The wealth gap means people are always going to want cheaper options. When cars and housing is so expensive, people want $5 t-shirts (enter Temu). When interest rates on auto loans are high, people will always want cheaper options. How do you protect American jobs while making products cheaper for your less fortunate? Obviously, universal healthcare, removing middlemen companies, and a more fair society could do it. Things in Denmark are expensive, but people are generally happy. But America has famously the opposite attitude.
Chinese government focused on batteries, solar panels, and EVs years ago. Everyone mocked Chinese pollution back then. The government went carrot and stick: subsidies for green energy while limiting the availability of license plates and registrations for ICE cars. This wasn't a secret (most people that comment on China have never been, or don't speak the language, or don't interact with Chinese people). Warren Buffett invested in BYD years ago. Meanwhile, the GOP was too busy denying climate change, American auto manufacturers were too slow and squandered the advantage (Tesla got in there at least), and politicians in general had no coherent strategy. China built more much high-speed rail than the rest of the world combined in 15 years.
What does this mean? It means that China has the largest EV market in the world by far. It means a ton of competition (too much and some of those companies will have to go under). It means attracting foreign manufacturers (Tesla received a bunch of subsidies to manufacture and sell in China; GM CEO Mary Barra recently attended the Beijing auto show - GM sold 5x as many cars in China as the US in 2016; GM won't want to miss out on remaining ICE/future EV sales). It means that said capacity is now spilling over to the rest of the world. But the prices for BYD are higher in Europe, UK, and Australia than China (so it's not even dumping, no matter what politicians say). Moreover, it means that markets where they don't have access or the wealth consumers to buy Teslas for example (e.g. Malaysia, Thailand), Chinese EVs are all over it. It's even in high-speed rail too. Chinese company recently built the first HSR in SE Asia in Indonesia. So Indonesians have trains that go 200 MPH linking cities. The US and UK do not.
None of this is surprising. There's a huge stereotype of "Chinese people being good at math." So there's will for EVs/high speed rail and supposedly Chinese people can do math (kind of important for engineering), and there's 1.4 billion people, most of whom really want job opportunities. Geez, who could've predicted this? Authoritarian government or not, it's not a shock.
The US even transferred battery technology to China.
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/03/1114964240/new-battery-technology-china-vanadiumSpeaking of batteries, Ford wants to partner with CATL (China's largest battery company) in the US for a JV. Virginia GOP governor Glenn Youngkin shot down 2,500 jobs in rural Virginia ("This is a security threat!"), taking Virginia out of the equation for said operation.
So, American politicians mocked Chinese pollution, told American citizens that the Chinese won't innovate, did nothing, watched as China developed the largest EVs and HSR networks, even gave China technologies, allowed American corporations to explore huge profits in China (innovating and selling there), took an insane amount of lobbying from oil/gas companies and automakers, and now want to ban Chinese EVs and citing battery JVs as security threats.
Is China that competent or are countries like America being ruined by their greedy politicians and corporations?
Who's the real security threat to American/western hegemony?
Make everyone's lives better and in a more equal society, maybe people won't want cheaper Chinese goods, but the politicians don't seem keen on that... And then are shocked when demand for Chinese goods is high.
Also, Chinese companies wouldn't necessarily sell in western markets for low prices anyway (more profit to be made). Chinese companies could have JVs with American companies (win-win and America gets technology transfer the same way China did). American investments and subsidies could spur on competition/innovation outside of China. But it's easier to paint China as a boogeyman, blame China for everything, but also do nothing to improve people's lives.
At least Biden's trying, so I appreciate that, but there's no coherence in general.
Trump/DeSantis/etc: "I'm tough on China. Tariff them!"
Also: Let's defund education, start a war on the Woke, ban windmills, etc.
