I suspect that one of the intentions of the tariffs is to spur domestic (American) production of goods that would otherwise be imported.[1] That said, I think t

I suspect that one of the intentions of the tariffs is to spur domestic (American) production of goods that would otherwise be imported.[1] That said, I think they are having the add'l effect of pushing Europe (and others) toward China. In response to Economist article's premise, what I generally hear is that the issue is not about whether they adopt democracy, but whether they accept a subservient role to the U.S. The term often used here (D.C.) is "little brother." Japan and S. Korea-- which started off as a pretty brutal dictatorship and today doesn't function as a free market/liberal economy) are cited as ideals.[2] The funny thing is, while most people hype a coming military conflict w/China, a lot of folks here openly acknowledge that the Chinese are not interested in that. It's said that they aim to essentially secure themselves, but also depend on the U.S. that maintain much of its current role in the int'l order. The Chinese are not thought to be interested in becoming a global hegemon / world police.[3] Anyway, I just came here to recommend a book, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives.[4] Reading it now and find that it puts a lot of things in perspective. [1] Fox Business News w/ Trump: https://youtu.be/K1qt6nQLoHI https://youtu.be/K1qt6nQLoHI [2] Chaebol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol [3] Military Challenges in the Asia Pacific (AEI): https://youtu.be/hp768euAi-E https://youtu.be/hp768euAi-E [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Chessboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Chessboard