So if you believe Friedman then Germany dropped Russia out of consideration because they exported more to the US. Well, if Europe cuts trade with China, they will lose trade with a country which they export more towards than the US, since Germany conducts more trade with China than the US, as does most of Europe with only a couple of exceptions. So they will lose trade not just with their largest supplier of commodities i.e. Russia, but their largest export market i.e. China, and one of their largest import sources i.e. China as well. Brilliant.
Europe's economies will implode thanks to the decoupling from Russia. NATO will be of even less less help to the US in a conflict in the Pacific than they would be today.
Let me try to add a few cents to your post.
Let me take the example of auto business, specifically BBA. Disclaimer: I used drive an Audi A6 for 10 years. So I somewhat know BBA.
As we all know that China is the single biggest market to all BBA, a.k.a, Benz, BMW, Audi. If you trace back to the history of Audi from an also-ran to a tier-one premium brand, it is China that has made what Audi is today, hands down, period.
In the global cut-throat competition in the auto eco-system, China is actually way more important than just the biggest market to BBA. Take Audi for example, China provides experimental ground that Audi cannot get from US or even its own home market. The efficiency Audi gains on A6 design, for example, is way way way higher with the current China eco-system than if Audi lost its China market (for everything Audi related, buy or sale or service or engineering or support). As a result, Audi has some great competitive advantages built into every new model development than its competitors, such as Lexus, Infinite, Acura, Cadillac, Jaguar, Volvo, BMW, Benz, etc. etc. etc. And BTW, developing a new model of premium car is a very expensive undertaking. Therefore, Germany would never server its economic tie to China unless German politicians can escape from Volkswagen (Audi parent) wrath. And BMW. And Benz.
Especially in the current transition from ICE to EV, Germany is already behind US and China in all aspects of the EV eco-system. If China is gone, it would effectively kill the entire competitiv value proposition of the German automotive industry.
As we all know, the essence of the German industrial power rests in the auto industry as well as in the chemical industry. The current war already inflicted significant damages to the Germany chemical industry from raw materials to markets.
That is, in a nutshell, I said early that the mighty German industrial machine would be doomed if Russian energy and China market are closed for good to Germany.
......
Go figure
