The GGR measure suggests they have a self sustaining economy to some extent. This manufacturing capacity, even if it’s “only” a third of global capacity, is a danger to free societies. It’ll ultimately be used to force the CCP’s authoritarian control on Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and probably others.
Unfortunately I don’t know what short term options there are to contain the CCP’s power and control over this capability. The conclusion of this informative article says this:
> China is now the world’s sole manufacturing giant. As its recent success in electric vehicles demonstrates, its wide and deep industrial base can help it gain a competitive edge in virtually all sectors. The exceptions are the most advanced sectors, where the G7 countries still dominate.
> Politicians who indulge in loose talk about decoupling from China need a clear-eyed look at the facts. As we have shown (Baldwin et al. 2023), all the major manufacturers in the world source at least 2% of all their industrial inputs from China. Decoupling would be difficult, to say the least.
“Wide and deep” is key here. Chinese manufacturing is hungry and way more competitive than in the US. Physical manufacturing in the US is geared toward the largest companies and the defense-industrial complex. If your products have any complexity to them (starting with electronics), a small company has little chance of getting access to good factories and pricing.
There is no political will - or sufficient tax revenue - to subsidise a broad-based OECD manufacturing economy. Factorio-China produces more than the world (or China itself) can affordably buy. Let's see if it's all sustainable. Are many American homes not warehouses for Chinese overproduction ?
Unfortunately I don’t know what short term options there are to contain the CCP’s power and control over this capability. The conclusion of this informative article says this:
> China is now the world’s sole manufacturing giant. As its recent success in electric vehicles demonstrates, its wide and deep industrial base can help it gain a competitive edge in virtually all sectors. The exceptions are the most advanced sectors, where the G7 countries still dominate.
> Politicians who indulge in loose talk about decoupling from China need a clear-eyed look at the facts. As we have shown (Baldwin et al. 2023), all the major manufacturers in the world source at least 2% of all their industrial inputs from China. Decoupling would be difficult, to say the least.