But is it really win-win…?

A communist state like China can control industry directly, react quickly to market changes and technology with direct government input, can change work condition, safety, and environmental laws at the drop of a hat and therefore has an infinitely adaptable workforce that it can easily manipulate.
It doesn’t have to deal with the trial and error or fickle randomness of entrepreneurship and capital investment like the West does.
It benefits directly from the West’s technology innovation, education system and consumerism….without the downside.

Sure, the West gets cheap consumer goods.
But at the loss of jobs, loss of tax base to fund infrastructure, and increasing consumer debt.

And because of the Chinese’s indifference to patent or copyright ownership, these goods often don’t even benefit the innovators, as the market is flooded with counterfeit goods.

Seems to me the Chinese have developed a perfect parasitic economic relationship with the West….and we’ve accepted it wholeheartedly to save a buck.