Indeed - We are kind of inured to it the "west" (or western aligned so we can include Japan, Korea and Taiwan) because we use Chinese production but we don't us

Indeed - We are kind of inured to it the "west" (or western aligned so we can include Japan, Korea and Taiwan) because we use Chinese production but we don't use all of it preferring to buy our own brands even if they are using Chinese components or straight made in China but if you step to the edges of the west (say Hungary which is the one I know the best) you see Chinese brands everywhere because they are as good and frequently cheaper and outside of those areas the gap widens further. The US did (and does) have a counter balance in its complete domination of the tech landscape, excellent sources of capital, "loose" immigration policies and excellent universities - all of which they set on fire for reasons I don't entirely as a European understand.