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Absolutely, the Chinese economy is the world economy. Everywhere else is the periphery.

Retric 4y ago
US China trade is vastly smaller than many seem to think. China is #1 in imports, but that’s only 1/6th of the total US imports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_partners_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_pa... US GDP is roughly 50x as large as what we get from China.
- ElevenLathe 4y ago
  GDP is a horrible way to think about actual international trade, because western GDP is pumped up by services, IP (and monumentally expensive machines that are mainly IP wrapped in steel). Meanwhile China exports actual stuff. In a real "embargo China" situation, China and their sphere of influence could easily replace Europe and the US while the opposite is not true.
  - Retric 4y ago
    Food, cars, medicine, housing etc make up a huge chunk of the real economy dwarfing much of what we think of as IP industries. As an example, 90% of toilet paper used in the US is manufactured in the US and that’s fairly common in most industries. Music is a great example of this it plays an outsized role in peoples minds but is a tiny fraction of the economy. China is a major part of the worlds supply chain and the kinds of things people buy regularly with disposable income but we can get cheap shoes and electronics elsewhere. Hell many companies are moving manufacturing out of China. Anyway, take a deeper dive at China’s imports not just exports and I think you would be surprised.
- slaw 4y ago
  Imports from China are vastly more important for regular consumer. Without China there are no phones, no cars can be built, no household appliances and so on. Almost everything you have at home is made in China. That's why people assume China is the world global economy.
  - andsoitis 4y ago
    A factory does not an economy make. You need buyers & sellers. You need inputs into whatever you produce. You cannot just trade with yourself.
  - Retric 4y ago
    China isn’t sending Food, cars, housing, medicine, which is the vast majority of the average households budget. China produces a great deal of stuff like clothes, toasters, tv’s, and phones but so does the rest of the world. Malaysia is manufacturing meany of the things people think of as cheap Chinese crap because Chinese factory workers are getting a little too expensive for various things.
    - gausswho 4y ago
      Medicine doesn't belong in your list. The US imports 90 percent of our antibiotics from China, among many other pharmaceuticals.
      - floxy 4y ago
        Would you share your source for that? https://reason.com/2020/04/06/why-you-shouldnt-trust-anyone-who-claims-80-percent-of-americas-drugs-come-from-china/ https://reason.com/2020/04/06/why-you-shouldnt-trust-anyone-...
      - Retric 4y ago
        That’s wildly incorrect. America gets ~1.5 Billion dollars a year worth of Medicine from China, which is 1% of the total drug imports let alone what happens when you include domestic production.

US China trade is vastly smaller than many seem to think. China is #1 in imports, but that’s only 1/6th of the total US imports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_partners_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_trading_pa... US GDP is roughly 50x as large as what we get from China.

ElevenLathe 4y ago
GDP is a horrible way to think about actual international trade, because western GDP is pumped up by services, IP (and monumentally expensive machines that are mainly IP wrapped in steel). Meanwhile China exports actual stuff. In a real "embargo China" situation, China and their sphere of influence could easily replace Europe and the US while the opposite is not true.
- Retric 4y ago
  Food, cars, medicine, housing etc make up a huge chunk of the real economy dwarfing much of what we think of as IP industries. As an example, 90% of toilet paper used in the US is manufactured in the US and that’s fairly common in most industries. Music is a great example of this it plays an outsized role in peoples minds but is a tiny fraction of the economy. China is a major part of the worlds supply chain and the kinds of things people buy regularly with disposable income but we can get cheap shoes and electronics elsewhere. Hell many companies are moving manufacturing out of China. Anyway, take a deeper dive at China’s imports not just exports and I think you would be surprised.
slaw 4y ago
Imports from China are vastly more important for regular consumer. Without China there are no phones, no cars can be built, no household appliances and so on. Almost everything you have at home is made in China. That's why people assume China is the world global economy.
- andsoitis 4y ago
  A factory does not an economy make. You need buyers & sellers. You need inputs into whatever you produce. You cannot just trade with yourself.
- Retric 4y ago
  China isn’t sending Food, cars, housing, medicine, which is the vast majority of the average households budget. China produces a great deal of stuff like clothes, toasters, tv’s, and phones but so does the rest of the world. Malaysia is manufacturing meany of the things people think of as cheap Chinese crap because Chinese factory workers are getting a little too expensive for various things.
  - gausswho 4y ago
    Medicine doesn't belong in your list. The US imports 90 percent of our antibiotics from China, among many other pharmaceuticals.
    - floxy 4y ago
      Would you share your source for that? https://reason.com/2020/04/06/why-you-shouldnt-trust-anyone-who-claims-80-percent-of-americas-drugs-come-from-china/ https://reason.com/2020/04/06/why-you-shouldnt-trust-anyone-...
    - Retric 4y ago
      That’s wildly incorrect. America gets ~1.5 Billion dollars a year worth of Medicine from China, which is 1% of the total drug imports let alone what happens when you include domestic production.