How are those cheaper prices working out for everyone?
The government’s goal was to separate China from the Soviet Union. The US government thought that if they opened up China it would go the way of Taiwan and become a democracy. But the CCP had watched what happened in Taiwan and they took control of all the things that would keep them in power as the people got richer. As things started to spiral out of control in 2020, they clamped down. Billions of dollars had fled to the US and other countries as the Chinese who could get their money out of China did so. Now it is almost impossible for any money to leave. Even companies that are making money in China can’t convert their Chinese money into anything else. It boggles the mind that any Western companies have stayed.
China has integrated itself into the world economy much like a cancer. It took over things like drugs and hospital supplies. Now, it is very hard to undo that. It will take recapitalization just as money is getting harder to find and more expensive to borrow. The China gambit was a mistake that should have been corrected right after the Soviet Union failed. But too many people were making too much money off the slave labor.
Of course, this is perfect hindsight.
The real bottom line: China is couldnt launch a missile to save their lives until Bill Clinton sold them the rocket tech they needed. Now their arsenal of advanced weapons are the top threat we face.