Free Market And Protectionism - not two sides of the same coin

Chinese companies vs those from the west are not competing on the same level playing field. Trump has identified this and bold enough to confront it head on. Strength in numbers does give the Chinese companies an edge but coupled with communist ideologies the scale(balance) becomes heavily skewed . The Chinese set up is no different from what Russia(USSR) has always done - with some cosmetic change to allude to a bit of capitalism albeit crypto. Free market demands freedom for every body and companies operating within this domain otherwise the free market is a misnomer

Most will consider the current battle between USA and China to mitigate the imbalance in export and import between the two countries as a just approach. But in the struggle with China, the economic dimension is fundamental. At one level the Trump administration appears determined to use its economic muscle not just to constrain a company like Huawei, but also to force Beijing to open up its markets and change aspects of its economic behaviour that have long-concerned western companies seeking to do business there

This battle is about much more than just business practices and commercial markets, it is a struggle over the most basic underpinnings of national power with huge strategic implications. To put it another way, the West is slowly re-learning the simple fact - one that Beijing has assimilated all too well - that economic muscle is the foundation of global power and that economic strength is the precursor of military might.