How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

Americans need to get over their view of “Asia” as being about making shoes. When I was working in engineering in the early aughts, we mocked the Chinese as being able only to copy American technology. Today, China is competitive with or ahead of America in key technology areas, including nuclear power, AI, EVs, and batteries.

We need to anticipate a future where China is equal to America on a per capita basis, but four times bigger. Is that a world where “Designed by Apple in California, Made in China” still makes sense? What will be America’s competitive edge in that scenario?

What seems most likely to me in the future is that the US will find itself in the same position the UK is in now. Dominating finance and services won’t mean anything when both the IP and the physical products are being produced somewhere else.

You do understand that Chinese Companies can easily just hire people from abroad?

You also do know how many companies moved their knowledge to China on purpose right?

The knowledge on how to build things, is learnable even if you don't just 'hack' everything.

And there is a lot of signaling happening, that china has surpassed American and European companies in R&D. CATL for example.

Whatever China did or still does, its a land with 1.4 Billion people vs. 340 Million.

Also we achieved, around the globe, a level of expertise around so many topics, that we do not talk about huge differences. If an engine from china is a few % less efficient than the high techv ersion from germany, but the labor cost is fundamental different, than you just loos.

And the prices are significant different. So significant, that if USA doesn't change, it will not be able to compete.

Even a 104% tarif does not change the competitivness of China in a lot of areas.

All of this is only a problem in capitalism btw. and with the upcoming robot revolution, the 'richness' of manufacturing will never again go to the workers ever. This time is over. We need to figure this out

You do understand that Chinese government can (and does) easily just instruct their nation-state hackers to steal from abroad?

They have been caught doing this for decades.