The fallacy of this piece is that it assumes China allows Western countries to continue to leverage its supply chains. It could say “no longer” at any time. If you don’t own it, you cannot rely on it.

>You might think China’s growing dominance in the auto supply chain would give its EV makers an insurmountable edge. But remember that Chinese producers of auto parts and manufacturing equipment are very eager to sell to non-Chinese carmakers. Western and Japanese automakers can take advantage of the same Chinese auto supply chain as Chinese EV makers.

>But non-Chinese EV makers can partner with Chinese battery makers to use their batteries or license their technology.

What if they then lock you out of it?

Interesting points about battery partnerships. I'm curious to see how these collaborations evolve, especially with giants like CATL and BYD getting more and more vertically integrated while still being open to teaming up with Western brands.

The rise of Japanese cars is the perfect note to end on. Imagine you could go back in time and predict the rise of Japanese cars a decade before it happened. Well maybe you can because it seems to be happening again.

One of the major policy responses to Japanese exports was the 1985 Plaza Accord, that essentially revalued the yen relative to western currencies. China of course, would never agree to such a deal.

This is pure cope. Brand loyalty will do nothing against the Chinese car companies. American car companies relied heavily on tariffs and import limits to compete with Japanese car companies.

The Chinese don’t have a gun to their heads so we can’t make them sign a plaza accord 2.0.