Well, the elite made out like bandits. Could one argue the more recent wealth inequality of the last three decades can be tied to essentially outsourced/arbitraged near-slave-labor/globalization/"free trade".
It was sold to the policymakers as good for America, and would moderate China.
But it was probably always about corporations making money.
So why did we hand them a modern economy? Because the rich would get richer.
I think Xi is making a big mistake: the global elite will not like this. It's not like they can depose him, but ... well, look at Russia. Putin is rich and powerful, but it is a failed state essentially. China could easily turn into that.
China had basically won the modern economy: modernize almost two billion people and use soft power to control the world. All they had to do is continue, but I guess CCP politics would eventually reward a totalitarian power hungry madman without any checks and balances.
It was sold to the policymakers as good for America, and would moderate China.
But it was probably always about corporations making money.
So why did we hand them a modern economy? Because the rich would get richer.
I think Xi is making a big mistake: the global elite will not like this. It's not like they can depose him, but ... well, look at Russia. Putin is rich and powerful, but it is a failed state essentially. China could easily turn into that.
China had basically won the modern economy: modernize almost two billion people and use soft power to control the world. All they had to do is continue, but I guess CCP politics would eventually reward a totalitarian power hungry madman without any checks and balances.