> China has banned nearly all US tech companies and social products. It has not decreased the influence of China's influence
Being hostile does not bring you friends. Sure, various countries can have reasons to suck it up anyway (e.g. because of sanctions, or because China makes an offer too good to pass, although even that comes with strings attached). But in the long run you just create clients or satellites who will escape at the first occasion.
The American foreign policy around the middle of the 20th century relied very effectively on soft power, which is something you can leverage to get much more out of your investments than their pure monetary value. It is not required in order to gain influence, but it is a force multiplier.
Then how can you explain that China’s hostility towards Western tech companies being present inside their own country has not created what you’re describing?
Is hostility a bad idea only for America? Sure hope not.
> Is hostility a bad idea only for America? Sure hope not.
I think protectionism is long-term bad for every country, but it's especially and uniquely bad for the biggest economy in the world who has net benefitted the most from free trade and competition. There's no denying that China is influential – the argument is that they could've been (and still can be) so much more influential by embracing western tech instead of walling themselves off.
America is reliant on purchasing cheap goods from elsewhere and selling expensive technology. If it’s hostile toward the suppliers of cheap goods or the buyers of expensive technology, well, what purpose does it have on the global scale?
I am saying that they could have got much more, particularly considering the spectacular mistakes western countries kept making for the last ~2 decades.
Being hostile does not bring you friends. Sure, various countries can have reasons to suck it up anyway (e.g. because of sanctions, or because China makes an offer too good to pass, although even that comes with strings attached). But in the long run you just create clients or satellites who will escape at the first occasion.
The American foreign policy around the middle of the 20th century relied very effectively on soft power, which is something you can leverage to get much more out of your investments than their pure monetary value. It is not required in order to gain influence, but it is a force multiplier.