> this might be a formal narrative, but the simple truth is that we did it because it made powerful people rich and entrenched specific factions in both parties
I don't think this is true. When these policies were first enacted upon, the revolution had just ended in China and Mao had just taken over. The population of China was large, but nothing like today, and cheap labor was plentiful all around the world. In short, there was nothing in particular that made doing business in China more lucrative than any other developing nation at the time.
The belief was that doing trade and business with the new Chinese government would encourage the developing nation to embrace western ideals... which it clearly did not.
Today, doing business in China is lucrative only because they have well over a billion people to buy products and use services... it's clearly short-term profit-driven thinking that has the likes of Apple bending over backwards to stay in the CCP's good graces, all the while the CCP steals Apple's IP, forces Apple to bend their morality, aid in censorship, unwittingly employ slave camps and more.
I don't think this is true. When these policies were first enacted upon, the revolution had just ended in China and Mao had just taken over. The population of China was large, but nothing like today, and cheap labor was plentiful all around the world. In short, there was nothing in particular that made doing business in China more lucrative than any other developing nation at the time.
The belief was that doing trade and business with the new Chinese government would encourage the developing nation to embrace western ideals... which it clearly did not.
Today, doing business in China is lucrative only because they have well over a billion people to buy products and use services... it's clearly short-term profit-driven thinking that has the likes of Apple bending over backwards to stay in the CCP's good graces, all the while the CCP steals Apple's IP, forces Apple to bend their morality, aid in censorship, unwittingly employ slave camps and more.