Isnt a trade deficit when we import more from China, then we export to them? If so, that is a problem regardless of whether we get dollars for goods. It is a trade imbalance in their favor which means they employ more people on their turf with our dollars!
No, “trade deficit” is another misleading modern-day term, like “liberal” or “feminist”. Again, if I go to the store and buy $100 worth of grocers, is that a “problem”? Of course not. I’ve received goods for dollars - a fair trade, beneficial to both parties.
An historical example of the absurdity of this thinking is tiny little Hong Kong perched on a rocky peninsula with no natural resources of its own. Yet it became an economic powerhouse. How did it do that? Hong Kong didn’t have any natural resources so all they could do was import goods - “trade deficits”. And yet Hong Kong became an economic giant. How? Because they thrived on a market economy that was essentially free of government interference including no sales or income tax.