Every country is now aspiring to be self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency doesn’t mean that countries need to rely on new ideas and import new technology that they don’t already have.
China has taken a more visible stand to go “all in” to be self-reliant, but they too need to have material inputs from foreign countries.
Self-reliance does not mean “protectionism”. Economists must come to terms with the fact that they must give up their concept of globalization for the sake of globalization.
Needless to say, there are more than 150 countries that will not be self-sufficient for decades to come.
Their standard of living is lower. Their governments are unstable. Their financial affairs are a mess.
In the context of self-sufficiency, or what people may call “Nationalism”, the current status of the supply chain and the flow of goods and services is highly concentrated in a few countries, namely China.
Recently, many non-Chinese companies have begun to think and explore ways to reduce their dependence. It’s not too late.
Companies need to focus and select the right talent in order to accelerate such efforts.
For some, there will be severe penalties if they are not able to reduce their dependence on a supply chain that is highly concentrated in one country.
