points by thoughtstheseus 1 day ago | 0 comments
What will the African customers pay with? Average income in Africa is maybe $200 per month. Chinese solar and EVs already lose money when factoring in capex and subsidies across the supply chain.
[–] bruce511 22 hours ago
[–] thoughtstheseus 7 hours ago
South Korea was allowed to industrialize and now exports advanced semiconductors. Chinas industrial policy will not allow Africa to do this. Maybe that is the right approach? Keep other countries strategically weak. I am skeptical. Losing enough “money” means your economy slows or shrinks and you have fewer real resources and capacity.
[–] thenthenthen 1 day ago
Honestly not much more than local Chinese income. Why wife works 15 hours a day. EVERYDAY. For about 300 usd, excluding penalties for making mistakes :/
In the 60s your argument would have applied to most of Asia. South Korea was an agrarian society. All of eastern Europe (and much of western Europe) was poor.
The question is less "where are markets now" and more "where will they be in 2050"?
"Losing money" (whatever that means at the national level) is not terribly relevant when it comes to global strategy. The US "loses money" on the military, because the US has chosen the military as a way to strategic dominance.
China instead has chosen "production" as a global strategy. One empire is voluntarily contracting. Another is expanding. The US is fighting the last war, with planes and bombs, while China builds infrastructure and makes friends.