China controls the supplies that Western energy systems, car factories, and arms makers depend on, and Beijing can cut them off whenever a dispute turns ugly. Europe’s rebuilding effort is stalling for lack of money, while America’s will take years.
Independence will be expensive, but dependence costs more: as long as Beijing can shut down Western factories, Western leaders will think twice before they stand up to China.
ODESA—Europe has discovered how expensive cheap imports can become.
China was long seen as a market for European products and a warehouse for low-cost parts. Chinese cars are flooding in just as European manufacturers fight to protect their factories and jobs, and the rush exposes a dependence that will be hard to reverse: Building a European car, expanding the electricity grid, or producing more weapons all requires materials and components supplied by China.
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Much like Russia was able to turn off cheap gas, Beijing can restrict those cheap supplies when a political dispute turns ugly. Western governments have finally begun trying to rebuild the industries that would allow them to withstand that pressure. Yet in Europe, some of the companies chosen to do the rebuilding are already struggling to stay alive.
