My point is simply that iPod factories and soybean fields are not fungible. China has an unnatural industrial base, that doesn't suit the purposes of its popula

My point is simply that iPod factories and soybean fields are not fungible. China has an unnatural industrial base, that doesn't suit the purposes of its population--it reminds me somewhat of the forced industrialization of the USSR, which worked great at singlemindedly producing tanks and rocket launchers. But now they have a shakey, unbalanced oil economy, while Germany and Japan (nominal losers) are both much healthier.