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Comment by Bhilai | Hacker News Reader

> The Chinese market bans most of America's social media software, and we're entering a trade war.

America is not China and should not frame its policies based on China's policies. While, I agree there is a need to retaliate but 'be like China' is hardly the way to do it.

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I agree that the US shouldn't justify acting like an autocratic state because China does so, but on the side of punishing an autocratic state there is precedent all over the place. The question we should ask is more how the US ever allowed China such exception in the first place, when Cuba for example has a full on total sanction against it, and so do many other autocratic states. So how did China get away without that for so long?

> So how did China get away without that for so long?

Cheap labor for US manufacturing

Unfortunately, Cuba values its citizens' lives more than China does, hence it turned out to be more profitable to keep manufacturing at America's biggest rival, all while Cuba gets stuck in middle income gap. Just an addendum.

Except that it should frame its policies based on game theory if it ever plans to survive against China. Which is exactly what it's doing. The time to take the high road against bad actors is over.

> Except that it should frame its policies based on game theory if it ever plans to survive against China. Which is exactly what it's doing. The time to take the high road against bad actors is over.

I don't think the time "to take the high road against bad actors is over", but the time to take the complacent and hopeful road definitely is over.

What way do you think is the right way to do it?

If these policies work, then why not use them?

No this is not "be like China", don't flatter yourself. When Facebook and Twitter was banned, there were imminent security threats as these platforms were used for organized crimes in China, and these companies simply ignores the requests from Chinese government to remove certain accounts. Google decided to not comply with local rules and left China by itself.

US didn't even bother to find a plausible excuse

Organized crime like... complaining about the government? Free speech?

I'm not going to defend thr Tiktok thing, but its basically equally dumb, its just that here teens dunking on the government isn't a crime.

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