Palmer, IMO, the West is strengthening the worlds single worst nation of all time. I have no ax to grind against the Chinese people, but their government has a long term goal of replacing the United States as the world’s leading hegemon.
We have conquered lands and have turned them back over to reasoned governments made up of those people. China’s track record is to take over land and expand it’s borders.
Anyone carrying on trade with China, is therefore sewing the seeds of their own demise.
China today would be nothing, if it weren’t mostly for the United States. And today it holds enough of our debt, that it can actually impact our policies.
We should have never gotten into the mess in the first place, and we should extricate ourselves from it in the short term. It’s only going to get worse.
Lots easier said than done. I agree with the dangers posed by China, but we have no way to get out from their grip without accepting 15% mortgage rates and other market-driven rates. Either that our destroy the currency as Mises pointed out. Although likely there would be war before destruction of the currency, that is often the third choice.