Gearhead

Exactly the world is not like back then (as in a year ego even). The United States, Europe, South America, etc have a choice of which businesses they let operate in their respective countries. So if for example European countries decide that it's unfair that their citizens have to pay social security, health care, etc and Chinese workers don't have equal protection they can decide to block Chinese products from their markets. If they find that German companies are forced to share their know-how with a Chinese company, know-how that may have taken decades to develop, and are subsequently used in a 100% Chinese company to compete against the join-venture then Germany may say that this Chinese company may not import it's goods in Germany/Europe. What the world is like is exactly what is being reevaluated. European bureaucrats even before Trump were starting to reevaluate their economic dealings with China and what the cost was to European business. This will only accelerate it. China won't have it as easy in the future. But the Chinese government is at this point still one step ahead. Their Silkroad initiative is all about extending it's economic power to the world and making entire economic regions like Africa dependent on them. Note that some African countries are already voting differently in the UN on issues like Taiwain, Tibet, Uighurs, etc because of China's growing influence. Chinese companies are never truly independent of the state. So Huawei isn't just a company ... it's a tool to extend the Chinese way of doing business.

How many Chinese companies are forced to find a 50% local partner to share their technology with? Zero. What's it look like when a US or European company wants to operate a business in China. Are Facebook, Google, freely available in China? In contrast are there restrictions on Chines companies like TikTok, WeChat, etc across the world? It's amazing to me how China wields just one of their tools, censorship (which on it's own you should be objecting too!), as an economic tool to keep businesses out and you all don't have a problem with it. And by the way it's not Facebook or Google's fault that Europe doesn't have good equivalents. How hard is it to start a social network? The US and Europe mostly have free markets (and please don't think European markets are entirely free). China has a state run policy designed to put foreign companies at a disadvantage. Huawei didn't have to set up a 50% joint venture with an American or European company, Huawai benefits from import rules that can result in paying less customs duties than a US company within the United States. China is fighting tooth and nails not to be reclassified as anything other than a developing country. It's laughable. It amazes me how excited European consumers are to buy Huawei phones considering the long term cost to their own jobs and well being. At this point even Samsung has my sympathy because they are fighting against Chinese companies that can absorb years of losses and profits due to government funds and loans. It is not a level playing field, China is making sure of it, so Trump may have faulty logic but he's drawing the right conclusion. Europe needs to invest massively in R&D and new ways of manufacturing or the continent is in trouble. Just look at recent Der Spiegel issue (for those of you in Germany) as an example of where entire German industries are facing issues both self-made and foreign made because they had to transfer decades worth of know-how to their Chinese joint-venture companies. I have no beef with the Chinese nor China's government which has lift up the country economically but I do have a major problem with pretending that Huawei (of all companies! I encourage you to read up more about how that company is run and by whom) is worthy of a second of our sympathy.