Dear NBA, Welcome to the Real China

NBA and America, Welcome to the Real China!
The View from the Middle

There are many Americans who may not really understand the threat that China poses to America and the world. We live in a world today that is still dominated by the USA, which still proposes to believe in free people and free markets, fair trade and the fundamental principles of capitalism. These principles, which also enable freedom of speech and freedom of religion, are good for all peoples around the world, but we must understand that China does not embrace this philosophy. The NBA, and by extension all of America, got a reminder of what the world would look like with China as THE world power, which is their plan.

A person, just one person in America, who happens to be the General Manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, had the audacity to tweet his support for the protesters in Hong Kong. How dare he!! As a result, the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) has suspended their cooperation with the Houston Rockets and Chinese State TV (CCTV) has announced that it will not be televising the preseason games that are being played in Shanghai and Shenzhen between the LA Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. THIS is how China responds to one man’s exercise of free speech. The country attacks him and threatens to deny the NBA’s access to their market. This is like using a bazooka to kill a mosquito, but that is what China does, and has been doing.

If you have been wondering why President Trump has been fighting a trade war with China, it’s because China has been doing the same thing to American businesses for the last 40 years or so. They do not play fair. They do not have open and free markets. They lie, cheat and steal with impunity using access to their market of 1.4 billion Chinese people as their bludgeoning club.

Let’s get specific. Here are four ways that China practices unfair trade in their quest to become THE world power by 2025. First, they create barriers to foreign companies to even compete in the Chinese market. Then, even if a company is awarded the right to compete, they are forced to do it with a Chinese partner who must hold a majority interest in that venture. This is the major mechanism they use to steal that company’s intellectual capital. This, of course, is not a requirement in the United States or any other developed country in the world that I am aware of.

Second, China has used unbalanced tariffs to both increase their country’s revenues and to make products imported into China uncompetitive versus Chinese goods. In fact, a major plank in China’s planned world dominance is to unfairly advantage goods produced in China. They do this through subsidization and manipulation of their currency.

Subsidization is the easiest to understand. China takes the money they charge other countries in tariffs and then subsidizes entire industries, if they like, and then export those products to other countries at prices that can even be below the cost to produce them. That, if effect, exports their unemployment to those other countries. They also manipulate their currency to constantly give their products a competitive advantage in other countries and increase the costs of products being imported into China.

And that’s how they have rolled, so to speak, for years, and countries have turned a blind eye to their lying and cheating and stealing in order to get access to their market. Now, America is calling their bluff by demanding free and fair markets or we will tax (tariff) the heck out of their products entering our market. This is not a pain-free strategy, but I believe that we must do this for the long-term good of our country and for the world.

Now the NBA is getting a taste of the real China that will bludgeon it into submission if it doesn’t acquiesce to their authoritarian, subjugating government. They need to tread lightly here. Are they willing to give up all of their rights and principles in order to acquire the almighty dollar, or yuan (the Chinese currency)? Is our country and the NBA willing to sell their souls to China? More importantly, are the athletes willing to sell their souls to a racist, authoritarian government? For anyone who is willing to do so, know that the price is high and will eventually come due!