And in large part that is due to our different approach to China. Opening up trade with China enabled its economy to reach the level it did today. In part [0] the minds thought trade would bring liberalization in China. But that didn’t happen, it’s quite a thing to walk back now but clearly it needs to happen. Unfortunately the politics of the US and EU are in absolute disarray so coordinating that is difficult to imagine.

([0] In another part forming relationships with China was also in part about putting a wedge between China and the USSR. Which may have been more productive but doesn’t explain the normal relationship since 1990.)