Strategy for success

The West is a global minority, and we are setting ourselves up for failure through self-imposed regulations and the distorted incentives they create.

We make manufacturing difficult at home while allowing unrestricted trade with countries like China that face none of the same regulatory burdens, especially on CO₂ and environmental impact.

Every factory that closes here only to reopen in China represents a loss of jobs, tax revenue, social-security contributions, expertise, and dual-use industrial capacity.

It is absurd that I can order from Tencent with no taxes, tariffs, or shipping costs, yet cannot do the same when ordering from Amazon in the United States.

TL;DR: The West needs more free markets inside, but firm realpolitik and protectionism outside.

We must take transatlantic trade integration seriously.

We need to create jobs at home and ensure we are never dependent on China as a sole supplier of anything.

We must discourage publicly listed Western companies from deepening investments in China, because national security matters more than short-term profit growth.

Yes, competition and free markets are essential, but not when they enable China to gain strategic dominance.

PS: “The West” includes not only North America and Europe but also democratic countries with similar institutions, such as Japan and South Korea.