Tensions between the United States and China have never been higher, as the US takes each technological development from China as a new challenge. However, with TikTok, Deepseek and trends in China’s general manufacturing, it’s looking less like a competition and more like a beatdown. How could this happen? How could communist China be beating the capitalist icon of the world?

Not long ago China was regarded as one of the poorest nations in the world. After Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, more than three quarters of the country lived on less than two dollars a day. Things slowly began to shift over the next couple of years as Deng Xiaoping rose to power. With Deng’s leadership, China saw unprecedented economic growth by embracing certain aspects of capitalism such as private businesses while establishing ties with foreign countries like the US.

However, China’s economic growth is not purely due to a switch from communism to capitalism, as even today China is considered a communist nation despite its, technically socialist behavior. During Deng’s reign, China became known by many as a socialist market economy. To the US, this label sounds like an oxymoron, but to China, the conversion was the main driving force of its economic growth. By combining the privately owned enterprises with the interests of the state, China can invest heavily into their own economy—with around 40 percent of their total GDP going towards their economy compared to the average 20 percent. China alsoinvests in foreign countries more than any other nation in the world, which provides their citizens with work overseas and creates relationships with nations all over the world.

China’s investments in itself and countries around the world are significant contributors to the growth of the economic giant. With this increasing economic interconnection, the exploitation of workers and human rights violations are rampant.

Multiple organizations such as Amnesty International have spoken out against China for their attacks on free speech and workers’ rights. These human rights violations are incredibly concerning and require swift and comprehensive action.

It’s also impossible for me to write this article without mentioning the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang region of China, in which the government of China has detained, sterilized and suppressed the voice of the Uyghur people. These people are often forced to work in warehouses for major Chinese companies like Shein and Temu. By not paying their workers a fair wage and dodging trading regulations, they’re able to push out countless new products that other more “ethical” companies can’t match.

This isn’t to say that the United States is completely free from controversy. Companies like Amazon and Telsa have been investigated repeatedly for violations of workers’ rights. The United States is one of the worst developed nations when it comes to workers’ rights, frequently denying things like paid vacation, maternity leave and healthcare for workers.

Neither China nor the United States are perfect and both riddled with human rights violations that must be addressed. The treatment of the Uyghur people in China specifically is nothing short of a genocide that is ignored by most of the public. Still, there are plenty of aspects of the Chinese economy that could boost the productivity of the United States at a time where the U.S. economy is headed for the gutter.

While highly unlikely during this Trump administration, a potential state-owned stake in the economy alongside more investments into our own economy could help boost our economy. At the same time, this could give Congress the power needed to purge the workers’ rights violations in American companies that it’s currently unable to do. A state-owned sector could also more equally distribute resources, to counter the wealth inequality within our country.

It’s clear the United States is heading in a direction where the rich will only get richer. This has been the case since the country’s beginnings, and if we do nothing to change it, it’ll be the ultimate downfall of the country.

Felipe Sathler can be reached at [email protected]