The manufacturing jobs discussion (in the article called China Shock 1.0), I find it confusing and maybe nonsensical.

The market for those jobs changed, the market became cheap labor from wherever, in this case China. That's what happened, it seems like it is less China as those jobs effectively became low wage (bad jobs) and I don't see anyone magically protecting those jobs at the time or now. It's not like the US could hold out and say "nope these manufacturing jobs have to pay higher wages" and that work in any way.