Despite political pushes for American manufacturing, the reality on Amazon's marketplace is the opposite. Chinese sellers' global share grew from 50% to 57% in one year, indicating that platform dynamics and global supply chains are more powerful forces than nationalistic economic policies like tariffs.

China's harsh, deflationary economic environment and intense domestic competition, while causing many companies to fail, effectively hones a select few into highly resilient and efficient champions. These survivors are now prepared for successful global expansion.

The belief that China's manufacturing advantage is cheap labor is dangerously outdated. Its true dominance lies in a 20-year head start on manufacturing autonomy, with production for complex products like the PlayStation 5 being 90% automated. The US outsourced innovation instead of automating domestically.

The success of tariffs hinges on the insight that China's economic model prioritizes volume and employment over per-unit profitability. This creates a vulnerability where Chinese producers are forced to absorb tariff costs to maintain output, effectively subsidizing the tariff revenue and preventing significant price increases for US consumers.

Instead of crippling China, aggressive US sanctions and tech restrictions are having the opposite effect. They have forced China to accelerate its own domestic R&D and manufacturing for advanced technologies like microchips. This is creating a more powerful and self-sufficient competitor that will not be reliant on the West.

From a Chinese perspective, its vast manufacturing capacity, supported by world-class infrastructure, is a global utility. The concept of "Made in China" is reframed as "Made for the World." This view suggests the U.S. should focus on its own strengths like innovation ("zero to one") instead of viewing China's manufacturing prowess ("one to 100") as a national security threat.

According to IMF data analysis, China's manufacturing surplus as a share of its GDP has surpassed 2%, exceeding the levels of Japan and Germany during their most dominant export eras. This indicates China is achieving global manufacturing dominance at a scale and speed that is historically unprecedented, fundamentally altering global trade dynamics.

Despite significant US tariffs hitting labor-intensive goods, China's overall export volume remains strong. This resilience stems from a structural shift towards high-tech sectors like semiconductors and autos, combined with strategically rerouting trade through intermediary ASEAN countries to circumvent direct tariffs.

Contrary to the Western perception of a monolithic state-run system, China fosters intense competition among its provinces. Provincial leaders are incentivized to outperform each other, leading to massive, parallel innovation in industries like EVs and solar, creating a brutally efficient ecosystem.