We can thank the Clinton Loral Space kickback for a large chunk of this...
We can thank the Globalist Republicans actually - Loral and John Huang were terrible but China couldn’t get out of its own way back then. Now with their mercantilism and willing US Govt partners they’ve de-industrialized the USA and built their own nation into a powerhouse. No way we could beat them if it came to it - what would do - buy Chinese steel and uniforms while we were fighting them?