China announced on Monday that its trade surplus reached almost $1 trillion last year as its exports swamped the globe, while the country’s own businesses and households spent cautiously on imports. When adjusted for inflation, China’s trade surplus last year far exceeded any in the world in the past century, even those of export powerhouses like Germany, Japan or the United States. Chinese factories are dominating global manufacturing on a scale not experienced by any country since the United States after World War II.

The outpouring of goods from Chinese factories has drawn criticism from an ever-lengthening list of China’s trade partners. Industrialized and developing countries alike have erected tariffs, attempting to slow the tide. In many instances, China has retaliated in kind, bringing the world closer to a trade war that could further destabilize the global economy. President-elect Donald J. Trump, who will take office next week, has threatened to escalate already aggressive American trade policies aimed at China.

On Monday, China’s General Administration of Customs said that the country exported $3.58 trillion worth of goods and services last year, while importing $2.59 trillion. The resulting surplus of $990 billion broke China’s previous record, which was $838 billion in 2022.

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:31 am Why would China import items when they can make cheap copies at home and export them.

highdesert wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:38 am

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:31 am Why would China import items when they can make cheap copies at home and export them.

And steal technology from the US and the EU while saving billions on R&D. Ask the heads of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and they'll tell you about Chinese industrial espionage in their countries.

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:55 am

highdesert wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:38 am

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 9:31 am Why would China import items when they can make cheap copies at home and export them.

And steal technology from the US and the EU while saving billions on R&D. Ask the heads of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and they'll tell you about Chinese industrial espionage in their countries.

The Chinese have been doing this for decades. My Dad was in the military and went to school in Denver for the Electronics and Radar Training right after WWII. He said in his class there was a bunch of Chinese students from their military and most were not supporters of the Chinese Republic but supporters of Mao.

Scott Pelley: What is the greatest threat facing the incoming Trump administration? Christopher Wray: Well, the greatest long-term threat facing our country, in my view, is represented by the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government, which I consider to be the defining threat of our generation.

Scott Pelley: What has the FBI found about Chinese penetration of U.S. cyber and infrastructure?
Christopher Wray: China's cyber program is by far and away the world's largest-- bigger than that of every major nation combined and has stolen more of Americans' personal and corporate data than that of every nation, big or small, combined. But even beyond the cyber theft. There's another part of the Chinese cyber threat that I think has not gotten the attention publicly that it I think desperately deserves. And that is Chinese government's pre-positioning on American civilian critical infrastructure. To lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and can inflict real-world harm at a time and place of their choosing.

Scott Pelley: The Chinese have already insinuated malware into critical American infrastructure?
Christopher Wray: That's correct.

Scott Pelley: Like what?
Christopher Wray: Things like water treatment plants. We're talking about transportation systems. We're talking about targeting of our energy sector, the electric grid, natural gas pipelines. And recently we've seen targeting of our telecommunications systems.

Bisbee wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 1:52 pm Consider what has happened to Southern California this past week. If malware is used to wrestle control of the electrical grid (which many residents are already blaming the electric company for this fire) during a wind-storm, or the water company is turned off when firefighters is already complaining about water pressure, China could effectively reduce the city to rubble without shooting a single bullet. A cyberattack on critical infrastructure becomes more and more plausible over time, and the folks we put in charge do not seem to be concerned enough to erect safeguards.