Matt Cookson
For years, China has been the global leader in manufacturing. Everything from technology to medical equipment is made in China. That is why it is so surprising that India displaced China as the number one manufacturer of iPhones. While the iPhone is one product, this trend demonstrates a potential strategy for the U.S. to diversify away from China. Doing so not only benefits us economically, but also for national security reasons.
The rise of China as a manufacturing powerhouse has been a story many years in the making. Deng Xiaoping's opening of the economy after the death of Chairman Mao opened the world to a source of labor that was as plentiful as it was cheap. China’s rise has been so rapid, especially since the turn of the century, that its share of manufacturing output rose from 9% of global output in 2004 to almost 30% in 2023.
Despite this dominance, there is a crack in the armor developing. A stagnating economy, draconian COVID-19 measures, and the trade war are all contributing factors in companies moving out of China. India, Vietnam, and Mexico are some of the countries benefiting from this. Nevertheless, China’s manufacturing prowess remains. It is not just commercial items that China produces, but also goods vital to America’s national security. One example of this arose during the pandemic, when we learned how dependent the U.S. is on China for pharmaceuticals as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
If China were an ally of the U.S., this wouldn’t be a problem, but the fact that China is a rival of the U.S. in the best of times is cause for concern. The U.S. military also has supply chain concerns related to China. While we certainly don’t buy any equipment from China, we do buy rare earth metals from China. These metals are needed in the production of all kinds of military equipment, from fighter planes to missiles. China cut off the export of these critical minerals in its trade war with the United States. If the U.S.
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