Japan is the #3 economy in the world. The U.S. is #1.
If both do the same this will have a major impact on China.
India is beginning to emerge as a far more stable trading partner. Other nations in Southeast Asia stand to benefit from this - Vietnam, S. Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Laos. There is a distrust of China throughout the region.
Trump has a massive amount of leverage. China is shooting themselves in the foot. They have threatened Europe, Australia, the US, and others in recent days. Their behavior is alienating a lot of people who are already angry about how they foisted this upon the world even as they took steps to protect themselves.
The potential to realign Asia has never been better than it is right now. Even some leftist in Europe are suggesting they need to divest themselves from China. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out over the next few years, but for the first time there is a real chance in my opinion that the Chinese economy is in serious peril because they are so reliant on exports and their “economic proxies” in the 3rd world can not even make up a 10th of the potential lost revenues.
There is also a chance that China will lash out either directly or by using North Korea. You can usually see a rationale in their behavior which sticks to their long-term script, but this pandemic has thrown that out the window.
At least the quality seems to be a little better in India, Taiwan & SK. I'm tired of junk. What I'd really. like to see is the quality of Made in USA from the 1940s-1960s. I've got a 1970 Sears Garden Tractor with a Tecumseh engine that still runs and cuts grass, has a little three point hitch with manual lift. I made my gravel driveway with it. Carved out of woods, graded and spread the gravel with the grader blade for it. How many "new" garden tractors would I need to last 50 years?
Really makes no sense. All the big companies have "green initiatives" while pumping junk made in China. Wanna save the planet? Make shit that lasts for generations instead of disposable after 2-5 years. Make parts available again so we can repair instead of throw it away and buy again. But of course that wouldn't keep the big money machine rolling. Wouldn't keep enough people busy.