John Eidson, writer, analyst for energy, climate change, government policies, retired electrical engineer, independent voter: From where did the money come that funded China's dramatic makeover from a Third World backwater to an economic and military superpower? Trillions of dollars used to finance its spectacular ascendancy was willingly handed over by its greatest patron: the United States of America. But don’t blame China for the trade imbalances. Its leaders were just doing what a nation's leaders are expected to do: negotiate the best deal they can get. If the country on the other side of the table is willing to absorb an epic thrashing in the process, so much the better. And the voluntary thrashing America took lasted 28 consecutive years, from 1989 to 2017, a period when much of America’s manufacturing base was allowed to sell-out its workers by offshoring production.
