Yes @livinguktaiwan, I guess we have this ...
"USA has always had a big role to play in Asia, and like it or not, their involvement has no doubt helped to maintain a balance in the region. Otherwise, Asia might have ended up as one big country instead of many independent countries long ago."
... to wrestle with, in the midst of everything else. There are those (I being one of them) who would also "credit" the USA for helping China's rise to become what it is today. Contributing how much to the "domino effect" which has followed up through what you present to us in your post?
Dr. Henry Kissinger (that last I knew) is still alive. If he were available for comment and would speak candidly, what would he have to say (if still of sound enough mind to comment) about how it has "all played out," since his secret trip in 1971, to arrange for Nixon's (in)famous trip to China in 1972? "Conventional wisdom" is a key aspect of this "brilliant strategy" was to create a counterbalance to the power of the U.S.S.R.
Nicely done ... 😕 🤷♂
P.S. I wonder what percentage of the goods you have for purchase their in Britain has a "Made in China?" label on it somewhere? I can't give you a number for here in America, but it is ridiculously high. Plus, we have also reportedly "borrowed" large piles of money from China ... 😔
No one knew how China would turn out back in the 70s, and Deng was more milder, if that's the right word to use. No one wanted a third world war so it made sense for the world to work together back then. Sadly things didn't pan out as expected...
The trend is to buy NMIC now but I think the % of MIC particularly the low end bargain goods are still pretty high, likewise don't have a figure either.