Meng and 'alleged' spying

[hobbyguy]

China has shown itself over and over again to be an unreliable, untrustworthy business partner. Yet we’re constantly being told we do too much business with China to stop doing so. So the takeaway from that seems to be that despite China’s bad behaviour, we make too much money trading with them to wean ourselves off.

Well, as I tend to believe the old saying that “ when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas”, I think the opinions of those who profit the most from trade with China are very questionable.

Maybe we can’t cut off doing business with China “overnight”, but we can certainly begin pivoting away and finding new markets for our products. And, if our Government had any integrity at all, they’d be doing just that.

It has taken 40-50 years, but the trade links with the PRC are embedded in our economy, in part due to neo-liberal trickle down economics.

There are other partners where such issues do not exist, but the supply chains are inadequate. ROC Taiwan is one, and more support for the ROC might be of interest. India is another, but that comes with its own set of issues. There is "no free lunch". And it will take time. PRC China has played a long game to embed their trade wherever they can. Western countries, having adopted the myopic nonsense peddled by Milton Friedman, played a short game - and now the bills are due.

We used to do things like make copper tubing in BC, make steel in BC. Just two examples of now non-existent supply chain options. You don't replace those overnight - and they will be higher cost if you do.

The export options are even more complicated and tied to the rise in the PRC economy.

CETA, CPTPP and efforts to work with India are the beginnings of a shift, but unwinding 40-50 years of moving toward PRC trade will take many years and much effort.

[Merry]

unwinding 40-50 years of moving toward PRC trade will take many years and much effort.

Agreed; but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.