The post war American trade playbook is based on the fact that the US market is the largest in the world and political control through limiting or threat of limiting access to that market as an instrument has prevailed against "upstarts and challengers" e.g. Japan in the '80s. The US is not use to playing the game on a more even footing i.e. against a competitor whose market is as big if not bigger and whose denial of access to its market has just as great if not greater impact to corporate health. I don't think they've moved with the times, besides what you are describing has already come to pass, the 'Internet with Chinese Characteristics' is already a more vibrant and developed place than their western analogues.
When the "do no evil" company is trying to get back into China with a censored version of their search engine and GM shutters US factories and opens Chinese ones because its market in China is bigger than it's so called domestic market the writing is pretty much on the wall. Its just the bunch of white old men were waiting for the telephone to ring with the news and didn't get the WeChat message!
Yes.
Earlier this year, consumer retail spending for China in 2018 was projected to grow to $5.8 Trillion.
That slightly larger than the expected US amount. And note Chinese retail spending is still growing a lot faster.
So the US will struggle to use the denial of the US economy as a sufficient threat.
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Yes, I agree that the 'Internet with Chinese Characteristics' is already a more vibrant and developed place than their western analogues.
But Chinese internet companies are still predominantly China only, because Western companies developed first and expanded globally first.
What I'm referring to is the next generation of technology companies based on using 5G connectivity, which doesn't currently exist.
It is in this realm that Chinese tech companies could grow big first AND expand globally first as well. And that global expansion could include the domestic US market.
For example, imagine Didi gets to self-driving cars first and irons out all the bugs, because China deploys better 5G technology from Huawei faster.
If Didi/Lyft have a 6month advantage in the USA in being able to offer taxi fares at HALF the price of Uber, that potentially could mean the end of Uber.
That's why I'm suggesting that if the USA restricts Huawei from installing 5G, then all its tech companies will be at a disadvantage compared to Chinese companies in downstream industries.
And those downstream industries globally are way more valuable than Huawei providing the initial infrastructure, which is going to be commoditised anyway.
. We are Chinese no matter where we go.
