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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
by 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 agoFood, 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.