Exactly. With supply chain gone, so is the pipeline of training and producing world-class engineers, and of course the ecosystem of innovating in multiple indus

Exactly. With supply chain gone, so is the pipeline of training and producing world-class engineers, and of course the ecosystem of innovating in multiple industries. Looking back 100 years, we can see that the British thought that Americans were manufacturing low-end and low-quality stuff, and the glory of their British empire could last forever if their elites could control finance and politics. Well, it turns out what matters is productivity and innovation, and why on earth would the smart people in a country who owns end-to-end supply chains would ask for innovation another country who owns merely "management"? Building a plane is hard, but possible. With large enough a market, a nation will be able to afford, and more importantly will have every reason to, conducting millions of rigorous experiments to figure out all the key technologies, be it manufacturing process, optimal parameters for air dynamics, or materials. BTW, in case someone forgets, manufacturing at low cost is the hallmark of industrialization. It makes no sense for Americans to snort that Chinese could make things at a fraction of the cost, just as it makes no sense for the British to despise what American could mass produce 100 years ago.