Could America make it without China if we had to?

Question

It seems in the rush to cut costs and make money, American industry has transferred a shocking amount of our industrial and manufacturing capacity to China. What people seems to have to forgotten is that China is NOT our friend or ally. Not exactly an enemy either but certainly a rival that has ambitions of joining, or even replacing the U.S. as a superpower. It seems like most consumer goods and electronics are made there, if hostilities broke out and China launched an embargo against the U.S.; refusing to sell us goods and dropping the dollar, the U.S. economy would implode, costs for everything would skyrocket, and there'd be a new Depression. China would suffer too, but they went it alone for a long time, and could still sell to the rest of the world, using American manufacturing technology no less! Is it wise to put so much of our fate in the hands of a rival?

Answer 1

Of couse we can make it without China!!! All we need to do is start using paper plates more often and keep the "good China" in the cupboard and only use it when company comes over.

Next question, please....

Answer 2

You're totally misunderstanding the issue. Of course we could make do without China -- we'd just be worse off: the reason we import things from China is because doing so makes us better off, saves us money, and frees up labor to do things that we need humans in the US do be doing more urgently.

If relations soured with China we'd adjust and have those goods made elsewhere, or make them here, as the case may be. But, all just a silly question -- if China "cut us off" our economy would not implode, but theirs CERTAINLY would. They need us far more than we need them.

Think about it: who's more important in a relationship, the business, or all of its customers? What will a producer do when its entire income is cut off?

Perhaps hundreds of million of Chinese by now depend on us for their jobs, and the whole country depends on us for much of their income. If trade ended suddenly, then in China there'd be economic chaos, riots, blood in the streets, communist leaders hanging from street lamps, heads on pikes. Meanwhile in the US, we'd be a little annoyed because we'd find shortages of certain nonessential things as our production shifted.

Answer 3

Large American industries have diversified their manufacturing throughout the world therefore a disruption in importations from China would simply be a short-lived hiccup as production would be increased at other facilities in order to replace the Chinese output. My worry stems from the outsourcing of high-paying jobs in the tech and manufacturing sector and Chinese ownership of America's debt ( acquired to rebuild ANOTHER country). I'm not a constant Bush-beater (I'm republican) but these are two examples of how Bush's policies endanger the American economy and worker. I'd mention his trade-policies as well but I want to keep this post profanity free.