The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought and How They Can Be Won, Revised and Expanded Edition

The Great Protectionist Walls of China

Under state control, many Chinese state-owned manufacturers are operating with the benefit of state-sponsored subsidies, including: rent, utilities, raw materials, transportation, and telecommunications services. That is not how we define a level playing field.

—Former U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans

Any time U.S. politicians try to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, China and its growing band of Washington lobbyists quickly attack these politicians as “protectionists.” A common tactic is to wave the bloody shirt of the disastrous Smoot-Hawley tariffs that helped cause the Great Depression.

In fact, it is perfectly reasonable for the United States to challenge China on its ...