It’s the year 2040. China is now the dominant global power—not through invasion or war, but through relentless accumulation of wealth and influence, fueled for decades by an unbalanced trade relationship the United States refused to fix. What began as economic cooperation has become economic captivity.
This is the scenario Edouard Prisse warns about in We Are Funding China’s Growth That Must Stop!, and it is not as far-fetched as it may seem.
Imagine the world in 2040 if the United States continues to allow a trade imbalance that funnels hundreds of billions of dollars into China each year. Beijing, already holding trillions in liquid assets, now controls key infrastructure in over 50 countries. Strategic ports in Africa, South Asia, and the Mediterranean are operated by Chinese firms. Several indebted governments have become de facto clients of the Chinese Communist Party, voting in line with Beijing at the United Nations and adopting Chinese standards for technology and surveillance.
Inside the U.S., the consequences are harder to ignore. The American manufacturing sector, once the backbone of the middle class, has further hollowed out. Critical supply chains—from semiconductors to rare earth metals—are dominated by Chinese companies. American firms depend on Chinese components and cannot shift production without massive cost and delay.
Meanwhile, the U.S. defense sector is under strain. While military budgets remain high, access to the components needed to maintain advanced systems has narrowed. Some materials now come from Chinese state-owned suppliers, creating vulnerability in the very systems meant to protect national security.
Abroad, American influence wanes. Alliances weaken as nations pivot toward China’s Belt and Road promises and investment packages. U.S. credibility erodes not through defeat but through dependence. Nations once aligned with Washington now hedge their bets, cautious of displeasing Beijing.
Back home, disinformation and influence campaigns blur the lines between free speech and strategic manipulation. Pro-China narratives dominate tech platforms. Think tanks and universities, long reliant on Chinese funding or tuition dollars, avoid criticism of Beijing altogether.
This future isn’t a prophecy—it’s a trajectory. Prisse argues that the root of this collapse is economic. It began with a refusal to confront the reality that free trade with an authoritarian, state-controlled economy was not sustainable. It was supported by a business lobby obsessed with short-term gains, a political class afraid of economic disruption, and a population distracted by discount prices.
The good news, Prisse writes, is that it’s not too late—yet. The United States still has the power to shift course. By replacing free trade with Equal Trade, enforcing reciprocal import-export balances, and reshoring critical industries, America can reassert control over its economic destiny. But time is short.
If we don’t stop now, 2040 may not be a dystopian fantasy. It may simply be the outcome of too many missed warnings, and one too many years of looking the other way.