China lacks will and way to lead the world

[ltlee1]

"Many influential individuals and policymakers in Washington agree as a
matter of fact that the one of the China Dream’s goals is to displace
the US-led international order and thus Washington’s global leadership
and power.

As exemplified by the lack of concern for foreign affairs in Xi’s recent
remarks, they’re wrong. Beijing is unwilling and—more importantly—unable
to replace America on the global stage. US policy must adapt to this
reality to put American interests first.

Xi’s 2017 speech to the 19th National Party Congress is often cited as
evidence of Beijing’s intent to overturn America’s role in the world. In
that speech, Xi envisions China as “a global leader” having “mov[ed]
closer to the center stage.”

If Washington is to take Xi at his word, as some are wont to suggest,
then China merely seeks a greater say in the global order commensurate
with its rise in power – not world domination.
..
Washington would be prudent to understand Beijing does not seek to and
cannot supplant America’s global superpower role. Instead of wasting
resources on preventing something China doesn’t want, policymakers
should put tangible American interests first.

This means maintaining dominance of the Western Hemisphere, bolstering
economic security, deterring threats to the homeland and adhering to
Constitutional principles. Only then can US global power and security be
maximized."

https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/china-lacks-will-and-way-to-lead-the-world/

[ltlee1]

Questions:

What is the relation between will and way? Is will necessary and
waysufficent by itself? Either one is necessary but insufficient? Will
and way are always interacting. Positively related, negatively related,
or not related?

What does will mean in this context? Reflecting the collective will of
the Chinese people or the just will the Chinese leaders disregarding the
people's thinking?

[ltlee1]

My take.

Whether China or any nation can or will lead the world is not a matter
of any leader or politicians' willing. Rather it reflects the strength
of a nation, mainly its manufacturing output as a percentage of global
output.

A country is what it can collectively make, for itself and for the
world.

[ltlee1]

May the question is less related to China's will and way but whether the
US and its hardcore allies could bulk up manufacturing. Today's US is
nowhere near yesterday's US in this aspect.

"China today has a nearly one-third share of global manufacturing
output—not as much as the United States at the height of its postwar
power, but a massive amount nonetheless. It was America’s manufacturing
dominance that enabled the spread of our commerce and power across the
globe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. China’s vast industrial
base gives it the same opportunity.

China has nearly half of global shipbuilding capacity. It is using this
capacity to build drone aircraft carriers, large LNG tankers, and
roll-on/roll-off ships for auto exports. China has 232 times more
shipbuilding capacity than the United States, whose industry has
consolidated to the point where we have to choose between building
submarines for our allies or for ourselves. We don’t have the luxury of
ice cream ships anymore.

It’s not just ships. Two companies in Shenzhen make virtually all of the
world’s commercial drones, while the United States barely has a
commercial drone industry. China surpassed the United States in share of
global semiconductor production within the last few years, and appears
poised to clean up in so-called legacy chips that power commercial
electronics, weapons, and much more. China is also the world’s largest
producer and exporter of automobiles, gas-powered and electric. The
United States still has an impressive auto industry, but the number of
vehicles assembled here hasn’t changed much since the turn of the
century. U.S. automakers now face an existential threat as Chinese
competitors like BYD build transplant factories in Latin America,
Southeast Asia, and Europe.

These aren’t random examples. All three technologies—drones, chips, and
cars—were invented in the United States (in the case of cars, their mass
production was invented here). General Atomics, Intel, and Ford Motor
Company were pioneers. In the span of a lifetime, the United States went
from dominating production of all three to facing the fight of our life
in these industries. Why?

America’s crisis of production is ultimately a crisis of productivity.
Total factor productivity has stagnated during the past half century,
diverging from trend in the 1970s. Manufacturing productivity did better
for longer thanks to a booming electronics sector, but since the Great
Recession, it too has stagnated. This stagnation means American
factories are missing out on an era of tremendous automation and growth.
The “alien dreadnoughts” are being built. But they are being built on
the other side of the world."

https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2024/08/rebooting-the-american-industrial-base-software-and-the-future-of-manufacturing/