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Because diamonds are an exclusively luxury item that people can easily forego, and China is a whole country with a massive industrial base that makes a wide var

Because diamonds are an exclusively luxury item that people can easily forego, and China is a whole country with a massive industrial base that makes a wide variety of products for cheap. If you have $10, you're more likely to buy a $2 item than a $5 one because 20% of your budget is easier to justify than 50%.

mikece 6y ago
I know it's difficult to buy a compute that doesn't have Chinese-made parts these days but not all parts of a computer are made in China. CPUs and memory chips are made in Taiwan and Korea; are there not makers of PCBs, power supplies, and the other parts of a computer such that you can get a computer to less than 10% Chinese parts? I didn't do a good job of expressing that raising awareness of the percentage of Chinese components as a differentiator would be a great marketing tool (similar to how cars sold in the US show what percentage of the parts in the car are US made versus imported).
- wizzwizz4 6y ago
  Unless you've got to 0%, that remaining proportion is still leverage.
  - tachyonbeam 6y ago
    If you make a conscious choice, you can gradually reroute your supply chain.
    - Guest42 6y ago
      It’s very concerning that the responses on this issue are so timid. I think for individual corporations to reroute takes a bit of effort but that it would be possible for groups of corporations to do this with guidance from the government. Not doing this is funding the atrocities.
      - wizzwizz4 6y ago
        I'm working from the model “companies don't care”. You're working from the model “companies are groups of people”. Yours is more accurate, unless the people in the company are using my model. Decision theory says that the best outcome comes from me adopting the “companies are groups of people” model. I'll try to remember that, and do so.
- meepmorp 6y ago
  What does it mean to be made in the US? Did the components of the components come from China; if so, is that motherboard made in the US because they put the Chinese-made electronics together in the US? And that applies to other areas. China does tons of industrial manufacturing for materials that are subsequent inputs to other products - the chemistry to create your medicines might happen in the US, but it's nearly certain that a big fraction of the reagents used came from someplace in China.
  - andromeduck 6y ago
    That's only for the binary, but we can always do it by value/cost proportion.
  - rascul 6y ago
    In the US, "Made in USA" (or the implication) means that "all or virtually all" of the "significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin". More information is available from the FTC web site: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/com...
- fakedang 6y ago
  The issue is raw material. China controls fuck tons of raw material in Africa and within itself, while the West ignored most of the "poor" countries. Not that China has been a positive force, but at least China hasn't invaded any countries in the name of bringing democracy to them. Fun stuff, Afghanistan has some of the largest deposits in the world for lithium, rare earths, gemstones and uranium, but good luck convincing them now of mining that. Also, yep, China has started both mining operations in Afghanistan, and an open declaration from the Taliban stating they won't touch their facilities.
  - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
    > at least China hasn't invaded any countries in the name of bringing democracy to them. Tibet would like a word.
    - fakedang 6y ago
      I didn't say China doesn't invade places. I said they don't invade places in the name of bringing democracy. In Tibet's case, it was about "restoring" China's borders (as it is with almost all Chinese incursions today).
      - AussieWog93 6y ago
        A large part China's justification for their expansion into Tibet was about "liberating" the locals from a pretty harsh caste-based monarchy system. Not exactly bringing democracy, but not far off it.
        inglor_cz 6y ago
        Yes, whenever you talk to a Chinese apologist about Tibet, the pre-1950 theocracy always gets trotted out. Well, true, but that still does not give you a right to invade and rule another nation.
        beaunative 6y ago
- 99_Woodcutting 6y ago
  Taiwan and Korea both trade extensively with China. Ok so you buy their products instead of China. They grow richer and use that money to trade more with China. Until you can stop trade between Taiwan/Korea with China, there is no point in buying those parts instead of Chinese parts. That money will eventually be recycled towards China. Buy American. Buy European.

mikece 6y ago

I know it's difficult to buy a compute that doesn't have Chinese-made parts these days but not all parts of a computer are made in China. CPUs and memory chips are made in Taiwan and Korea; are there not makers of PCBs, power supplies, and the other parts of a computer such that you can get a computer to less than 10% Chinese parts? I didn't do a good job of expressing that raising awareness of the percentage of Chinese components as a differentiator would be a great marketing tool (similar to how cars sold in the US show what percentage of the parts in the car are US made versus imported).

wizzwizz4 6y ago
Unless you've got to 0%, that remaining proportion is still leverage.
- tachyonbeam 6y ago
  If you make a conscious choice, you can gradually reroute your supply chain.
  - Guest42 6y ago
    It’s very concerning that the responses on this issue are so timid. I think for individual corporations to reroute takes a bit of effort but that it would be possible for groups of corporations to do this with guidance from the government. Not doing this is funding the atrocities.
    - wizzwizz4 6y ago
      I'm working from the model “companies don't care”. You're working from the model “companies are groups of people”. Yours is more accurate, unless the people in the company are using my model. Decision theory says that the best outcome comes from me adopting the “companies are groups of people” model. I'll try to remember that, and do so.
meepmorp 6y ago
What does it mean to be made in the US? Did the components of the components come from China; if so, is that motherboard made in the US because they put the Chinese-made electronics together in the US? And that applies to other areas. China does tons of industrial manufacturing for materials that are subsequent inputs to other products - the chemistry to create your medicines might happen in the US, but it's nearly certain that a big fraction of the reagents used came from someplace in China.
- andromeduck 6y ago
  That's only for the binary, but we can always do it by value/cost proportion.
- rascul 6y ago
  In the US, "Made in USA" (or the implication) means that "all or virtually all" of the "significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin". More information is available from the FTC web site: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/com...
fakedang 6y ago
The issue is raw material. China controls fuck tons of raw material in Africa and within itself, while the West ignored most of the "poor" countries. Not that China has been a positive force, but at least China hasn't invaded any countries in the name of bringing democracy to them. Fun stuff, Afghanistan has some of the largest deposits in the world for lithium, rare earths, gemstones and uranium, but good luck convincing them now of mining that. Also, yep, China has started both mining operations in Afghanistan, and an open declaration from the Taliban stating they won't touch their facilities.
- chordalkeyboard 6y ago
  > at least China hasn't invaded any countries in the name of bringing democracy to them. Tibet would like a word.
  - fakedang 6y ago
    I didn't say China doesn't invade places. I said they don't invade places in the name of bringing democracy. In Tibet's case, it was about "restoring" China's borders (as it is with almost all Chinese incursions today).
    - AussieWog93 6y ago
      A large part China's justification for their expansion into Tibet was about "liberating" the locals from a pretty harsh caste-based monarchy system. Not exactly bringing democracy, but not far off it.
      - inglor_cz 6y ago
        Yes, whenever you talk to a Chinese apologist about Tibet, the pre-1950 theocracy always gets trotted out. Well, true, but that still does not give you a right to invade and rule another nation.
        beaunative 6y ago
99_Woodcutting 6y ago
Taiwan and Korea both trade extensively with China. Ok so you buy their products instead of China. They grow richer and use that money to trade more with China. Until you can stop trade between Taiwan/Korea with China, there is no point in buying those parts instead of Chinese parts. That money will eventually be recycled towards China. Buy American. Buy European.