China Doesn’t Want Fair Trade – They Intend to Dominate Us

What is the trade war between the U.S. and China fundamentally about? Is it over the terms of trade, or is it about a new world order?
It is about a new world order, and let me tell you why I believe that.
Prior to China becoming a force in world trade, items were traded among nations under a system whereby countries developed ever-greater specialties based upon who could produce the best product at the lowest price.  
In such a system, everybody wins. For example, if there are only a few producers of airplanes, each has enough business to enable them to fine-tune their craft such that they can manufacture ever-safer and more economical planes.
That was the world order until China became so economically powerful. China has a different plan. They aren’t content to be a player in that system; rather, they are manipulating the system to their own advantage – And Winning.  They don’t seek the common good. Instead, they seek to build up their own nation at the expense of others.
Rather than trade with the U.S. on a level playing field, they place tariff and non-tariff barriers on our imports into their country. For example, in order for our manufacturers to gain access to their market, those manufacturers must turn over their technologies as the price of doing business in China.
This has resulted in China selling to the U.S. $524 billion, while we only sold $187 billion to them in 2017, per the Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2018. America pays for this imbalance in several ways. China is able to create far more jobs for workers making exports to us than we are able to generate for exports to them. The technology transferred to them undermines our manufacturing base, because they now are making products to compete with us, not just in China, but worldwide.
As they build up their economy at our expense, they are now ever better able financially and technologically to challenge us militarily. In particular, they are pushing for control of the vitally important trade routes in the South China Sea.
If they are able to achieve their objectives, where will it leave us and the rest of the world? Well, they have demonstrated that they are anything but team players. Further, they have said they intend to overtake the U.S. economically in 20 years or less. How will they use that power? Are they going to change their ways and start playing nice in the future?
This line of thought calls to mind the adage, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Among the first steps both Stalin and Hitler took were to consolidate power around them. Now China’s Xi Jinping just took that same step. Stalin and Hitler then took away the personal liberties of the people; China is doing the same. By the Stalin-Hitler script, the next step for China will be to begin conquering surrounding nations.
What do we do to preserve our peace and world peace, which are inextricably entwined? We take action before it gets worse. Note, this situation has been developing over the last number of years, and we continued to keep our head in the sand as it worsened. 
World War II taught us that putting off problems is a dangerous – no, a horrific strategy. Thankfully, President Trump sees the China challenge and is forcefully addressing it. For us to retain the peace, however, we have to address the challenge as a united nation, which we have not been for the last three U.S. administrations. The people of our nation need to pray that we learn how to work through our differences. If we fail, catastrophe could hang in the balance.