American companies pushed for offshoring to China because it was profitable, and the long-term cost was a shift of economic power away from the US.

• US policymakers avoided a realistic view of China's rise because big companies wanted cheap production there.
• Those companies accepted deals on sharing technology that let Chinese firms learn to do what American firms did.
• Americans did get cheaper goods out of it, so the trade was not all loss.
• The tradeoff was economic power moving toward China, and the bill is coming due now.

Outlook: Expect more pressure in Washington to unwind the China supply chain, with higher prices as the cost.