I think we are hung up on an incorrectly simplified calculation. If China produces a cell phone and takes labor and raw materials costs and a bunch of IP holders and stock holders then take the majority of the sales price then China supposedly has a major trade surplus. This incorrect measurement has probably been a driver in China ensuring it gets everything it can out of anything that will be measured as part of its surplus which means competing with foreign brands made in China as quickly as possible. Eventually this should mean trying to limit the exports of Chinese companies that have foreign investors.

I agree with the over simplified calculation. People have been going on about Germany and China having a surplus and the US a deficit for dunno 40 years saying it can't work but why not? If someone in the US wants a Merc and the Germans take Anthropic shares in exchange who cares?

Just like AI: If IP is collected on the backs of society by externalized costs, theres no moral or ethical reason to respect that IP.