Yeah but how much of those imports are actually important? Like some crappy electric lawnmowers, cheap plastic toys, crappy electric scooter that fat americans don't really need. Crappy smartphone, when someone could just buy a low end apple made in india or something. Probably the most important are medical devices.
> The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: electrical machinery ($125 billion); machinery ($92 billion); furniture and bedding ($27 billion); toys and sports equipment ($25 billion); and plastics ($18 billion).
> U.S. imports of agricultural products from China totaled $3.6 billion in 2019, making China the United States’ 6th largest supplier of agricultural imports. Leading categories included: processed fruit and vegetables ($787 million); snack foods ($172 million); spices ($170 million); fresh vegetables ($136 million); and tea, including herbal tea ($131 million).
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#1 item imported from China is electronic machinery. #2 item is non-electronic machinery.
Your "cheap toys" comment is #4 at only $25 billion, a fraction of the amount of electronics we import from China.
So yes, "iPhones / Lenovo" is far more representative of our imports from China than whatever you're thinking.
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This is probably important to note: but the USA has no equivalent to the Shenzhen electronics marketplace. Yes, China has leapfrogged us in cheap and effective electronics manufacturing.
No, its not the "high-tech" stuff. But a lot of electronic assembly: from power supplies, to iPhones, to motherboards, happens in Shenzhen for a reason. The nuts-and-bolts of resistors, capacitors, motherboard manufacturing and the like are important.
USA holds the capability to make these things in smaller runs, but not as efficiently as Shenzhen. The closest we had was Silicon Valley, but that turned into software and the hardware/electronics component has basically disappeared. Yes, we have a "maker" movement, but over there, they have Shenzhen: a "maker city".
Ok, so what percentage of that stuff is actually high value-add?
How much useful USD capital and more importantly KNOWLEDGE capital was invested into China -- all so we can get lots of average and also crappy power supplies and 80's 90's electrical hardware tech? This could've been done in other places with the right investments.
I'm not saying China didn't do an amazing job. But given the outcome, a powerful autocratic nation that wants to usurp the world authority... was it really worth it for mediocre stuff that's slightly cheaper?
> Ok, so what percentage of that stuff is actually high value-add?
Millions of factory owners have individually decided that waiting 3+ weeks for shipping from Shenzhen was better than any US-based equivalent manufacturer, who probably could ship them the parts in just 5 days at much cheaper shipping prices.
There's no singular person from on high encouraging people to trade with China (at least, any more so than say NAFTA encourages trade with Mexico). This is an individual decision that was ad-hoc decided en-masse over multiple years.
In fact, we had a trade deal with all of Asia (except China) called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. So that we'd encourage trade with Vietnam, India, Mexico, Australia, Canada _INSTEAD_ of China. But we elected a President in 2016 who got rid of the trade deal (and instead pushed for ineffective Tariffs).
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Look, its Apple who decided to manufacture iPads and iPhones in China rather than the USA. In fact, President Obama famously sat down with Steve Jobs to ask him what the USA needed to bring manufacturing back to state-side.
Steve Jobs famously replied: nothing. There's nothing the USA could do to win back the iPad / iPhone. That's how big of a lead China has on manufacturing and assembly. At this point, its a question of what we, the USA can do, to win back the hearts and minds of manufacturers.
Thumping anti-Chinese attitudes is probably counterproductive. They see China as a superior manufacturing chain than USA. Its more important to recognize the reality, and begin to emulate Shenzhen. What can the USA do to "build our own Shenzhen" ??
"The steel contract went to a state-owned Chinese company, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, which had several advantages: modern production facilities, ships to deliver the steel and, of course, low-cost labor."
I would say the cabling of a suspension bridge is pretty important.
