I need to vent for a second. When did everyone become a “China expert”? I’ve been living in China for 30 years and the only lesson I’ve learned is that, as a foreigner, you will never really know China. You’ll gain some insights, sure, but you ultimately reach a point where you accept that it is all beyond a true, deep understanding.

And yet, there are hot takes everywhere all pretty much with the goal of engagement farming. Normally this wouldn’t bother me one iota. I’ve seen it all before. Today, however, these hot takes all center on confrontation. “China is the enemy and must be treated as such.” China isn’t the enemy, it is just a vastly different culture and governance system. By all means, go ahead and disagree and have your system outcompete that of the Chinese. Just don’t fall into the narrative trap of this being “us versus them”.

And for the love of all that is Holy, take with the largest grain of salt anyone weighing in on the China subject.