OPINION:
Before any nation might effectively challenge China, a mighty military country with almost 1.5 billion consumers, on any issue that nation first must have a significant trade export/import bargaining chip.
I can imagine that a large enough number of world nations securely allied, however, likely could combine their resources and go without the usual China bully nation trade/investment connection they’d all prefer to abandon. Instead, they could trade necessary goods and services between themselves (and perhaps other, non-allied countries not beholden to China).
Yet, maybe such an alliance has already been secretly proposed, discussed and rejected due to Chinese-government strategists knowing how to “divide and conquer” potential alliance nations by using door-wedge economic/political leverage custom-made for each nation.
The shortsighted placement of one’s own bottom-line interests first and foremost may always be a country’s (and therefore everyone’s) Achilles heel to be exploited by huge-market nations like China.
FRANK STERLE JR.
White Rock, B.C.
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