[Tallguy]

They gain a positional advantage in the Pacific. Taiwan blocks some of their ports and dominates the north-south sea lanes that Japan relies upon.

OTOH, they bite the investment hand that feeds them. But they appear to be ready to do just that.

[CygnusXI]

Good thing they're MFN.
/sarc

[Alberta's Child]

And "the investment hand that feeds them" doesn't just include the U.S. as a trading partner. The U.S. could bring China to its knees tomorrow (and do the taxpayers of this country a great favor) by seizing all Chinese assets in the U.S. and defaulting on all the U.S. government debt that is held by Chinese interests.

Most people mistakenly assume that the U.S. puts itself in a bad position by running up huge deficits that are paid by lending money to foreign interests. In fact, it's the exact opposite -- borrowing money from the U.S. government effectively puts you at the mercy of that government.

[Don Joe]

OTOH, they bite the investment hand that feeds them. But they appear to be ready to do just that.

It's called "war", and the goal is to win.

China has been quite frank about their ultimate intentions toward the west, and we ignore them at our own peril.

[GOP_1900AD]

Certainly, as compared with those early and heady days of the late 1980s and early 90s when greenfield site were sprouting like lychees throughout South China, and I was shrouded in optimism guzzling Tsing Tao stout in Shang Hai, the dependence on Taiwanese and US investment in the PRC is much less. Today, they overtly court the ASEAN overseas Chinese, the Euros, the CISers, and the wealthier quarters in the Islamic world. Therefore, it would seem that the counteracting effects of Taiwanese and US investment on PRC restraint are markedly less than they were even 10 years ago. Of this, we must make note.