Recently, Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden said, "China is going to eat our lunch?  Come on, man...they can't even figure out how to deal with the fact that they have this great division between the China Sea and the mountains in the east, I mean in the west."  Biden continued, "They can't figure out how they're going to deal with the corruption that exists within the system.  I mean, you know, they're not bad folks, folks.  But guess what: they're not.  They're not competition for us."

He might want to look for advice to former British prime minister Winston Churchill, who said, "You must look at the facts, because they look at you." 

Here are the facts:

Over the past decade, annual US exports to China have risen from $69.5 billion to $120 billion.

Over the same period, Chinese exports to American have grown from $296 billion to $539 billion.  Over the decade, the Chinese have sold us $4.4 trillion in goods and services, while we have sold China $1.1 trillion.

In 2018, China sold us $540 billion, while we sold the Chinese $120 billion, for a net deficit of $419 billion.

The net result has been a transfer of $3.3 trillion of wealth from America to China.

What are they selling us, and what are we selling them?

According to the U.S. Trade Representative Office:

The top US non agricultural export categories to China  in 2018 were: aircraft ($18 billion), machinery ($14 billion), electrical machinery ($13 billion), optical and medical instruments ($9.8 billion), and vehicles ($9.4 billion).  

America's top imports from China in 2018 were: electrical machinery ($152 billion), machinery ($117 billion), furniture and bedding ($35 billion), toys and sports equipment ($27 billion), and plastics ($19 billion).  U.S. imports of services from China were an estimated $18.4 billion in 2018, 5.5% ($963 million) more than 2017, and 68.3% greater than 2008 levels. It was up roughly 414% from 2001 (pre-WTO accession). Leading services imports from China to the U.S. were in the transport, travel, and research and development sectors.

Although media headlines are filled with the pain being suffered by America's farmers as a result of the nation's tussles with China, even if the US were to lose all $19 billion in agro exports to that nation,  it wouldn't make much difference in the processing of curing a $420 billion trade deficit.  Top markets in 2017 for agricultural exports were:  Canada ($20.5 billion), China ($19.6 billion) and Mexico ($18.6 billion).

We buy more toys and sports equipment from China ($27 billion) than the Chinese do in all farm products from us.

The annual transfer of wealth from America to China is growing each year.  The Trump administration's tariffs may not be the best way of stanching it.  

But I'd like to hear from any of the 23 Democrats running to lead this country what their plans are if elected.  I'd like some real journalist to ask Mr. Biden if he still thinks the Chinese are not competition for us.