Is China the Ultimate Free-Rider?
16th April 2025
With a Trump-induced decline of American alliances n the works, is Chinese global ascendancy going to result? It would seem so. Matt Yglesias tweeted that “America may be cooked and it’s gonna be the Chinese century.” Thomas Friedman recently wrote a column suggesting that the future is to be found in China, not America.
Thomas Friedman has never met a Communist regime he didn’t prefer to that of the U.S. Makes you wonder why he hasn’t left yet.
In the realm of technology, China’s advances are impressive. BYD has the best and cheapest electric vehicles, the CCP is pulling out all stops to attain high-quality chips and lithography capabilities. Chinese AI, in the form of DeepSeek and Manus, has shocked many Westerners with its inventiveness.
Being able to exploit technology stolen from other countries doesn’t constitute ‘impressive advances’.