Not a stupid question at all.
Barring open hostilities, the worst thing that will happen is that some of the things we still depend on China for will just stop arriving. How bad this will be depends on how far along we are in our current industrial build out.
The US is in the middle of the fastest industrial build out in our history. This includes WW2. It goes almost unnoticed since we have almost twice the population and four plus times the size of our economy.
We still depend on China for things like large electrical transformers, and pharmaceutical per-cursors. That dependence is dropping.
One reason I think that Biden might not actually be in charge is that his administration is even more protectionist towards China than Trump. I've always thought that odd.
I don't think there is anything we can do to prevent the collapse of the PRC economy. It is too far gone. The best thing we can do is NOTHING! Continue our build out and get ready to pick up the pieces.
There might even be a few bennies in it for us. The price for all the stuff the PRC imports could well drop significantly if they stop buying.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
