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Re:Arrests of Hong Kong democrats shows why EU must reject C... by baybal2 on Saturday January 09, 2021 @10:47AM (#25701290)
> The west needs to sanction China.

Do you understand that the West mostly sanctions itself when it tries to sanction a country which:

1. Has surreal trade surplus with it.

2. Supports nearly entire consumer spending part of your economy.

3. Provides most of your light industry goods.

4. Buys a big chunk of your debt.

This is why I was saying that China can easily do a blunder, after a blunder, and still outmatch the West economically, and you need something other than simply sanctions.

Re:Arrests of Hong Kong democrats shows why EU must reject C... by loceng on Saturday January 09, 2021 @01:54PM (#25703285)
We just need leaders in place who understand these systems, the economics, and trust that once investing resources into their own people and nations who are aligned with the same/similar values - with freedom of speech at their core - that they will work hard and generate an ROI for their work; understanding the human heart, mind, will, and exponentials are the key to having this faith - faith perhaps deriving from seeing the good and potential in every being.

You're correct that more than sanctions are necessary, you need to also invest in the infrastructure and production of goods that your society primarily relies on. There's tons of space for innovation and improving efficiencies in this space via automation, vertical and horizontal integration, reducing planned obsolescence, etc. There's an incredible amount of waste in our societies, along with other types of pollution we must address. All this requires is work, which means jobs, and adequate organization and appropriate directing of resources.

Re:Arrests of Hong Kong democrats shows why EU must reject C... by 411111111111111 on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:27AM (#25701671)
Isn't the point of sanctions to make the offending product so expensive that other options become more viable?

They would've to be hard enough to make it more cost effective to create a new production line in another nation over buying the sanctioned goods.

Not without consequences for the consumer and political suicide if attempted... but technically possible

Re:Arrests of Hong Kong democrats shows why EU must reject C... by baybal2 on Saturday January 09, 2021 @11:59AM (#25702013)
> Isn't the point of sanctions to make the offending product so expensive that other options become more viable?

The key word here is other options. Are there any?

China on other hand has many other options than the US market. They will have no problem redirecting things like household goods, and other light industry products to other markets without impact to its industrial capacity.

That's what has happened in 2008, and indeed worked marvelously for them in the end.

When the American economy was flopped, they simply took all those luxuries destined for sale to America, dumped them on developing markets, and adjusted quality-quantity balance for this target market.

Re:Arrests of Hong Kong democrats shows why EU must reject C... by hkmaxpro on Saturday January 09, 2021 @04:43PM (#25705119)
> The key word here is other options. Are there any?

Yes if you ask about them at the right place, like https://www.reddit.com/r/avoidchineseproducts/