Here I was preparing for another day of the #China grind and then this just hit the news wires.

Strategy matters, but tactics can matter even more. It needs to be said; America’s policy towards China is thoroughly misguided. There is no apparent cohesion on how it is that the United States seeks to counter/compete with China. There just seems to be a single page in the playbook, and it is only a defensive playbook. You might be a hammer, but viewing everything as a nail will not change the trajectory towards a new multipolar global reality.

China’s greatest asset is that of being the world’s dominate base of manufacturing. If America truly wishes to compete, then it should take whatever measures are necessary to begin cutting into that advantage. And “friend-shoring” isn’t the answer.

There have been some attempts made, primarily the billions granted through the CHIPs Act. This example, however, only demonstrates just how ill-equipped America is when it comes to reindustrializing the country. Delay after delay and regulatory red tape.

Blaming China or taking a solely defensive stance through the targeting Chinese companies, be that TikTok, DJI Technologies or now the Chinese telecom industry, is nothing but an exercise in signaling. None of these actions gets to the heart of the geopolitical issue.