>>36120
>why the fuck are we trading with them
The "free" market fixed that way. As I wrote in the other thread it's advantageous to choose them as a source, buying their stuff is cheaper than produce them locally.
While OP questioned the cheap labor, there are other factors. One probably is the incentive the Chinese govt. hands out for setting up companies. One other, that with every new piece produced the production gets cheaper, and they can produce in such a huge volume the cost of production is low. And then transportation is similar, those giant ships can bring such massive amounts that the transportation cost per one item is trivial. Probably some other stuff in play, but the underline is local companies cannot compete.
Btw the large possible volume comes from consumerism. Since we use a product for a short time (planned obsolescence) and purchase another again this ensures more stuff has to be churned out than the actual needed amount (if the they would be durable, or feasibly repairable, or just repairable at all).
With conscious decisions the customer can pick goods that aren't from China, but it's not easy, and not possible in case of certain products (liek computer parts and such).
Why governments don't stop Chinese goods? Because tariffs are part of the income. And relations with China is more than simple buying their stuff. Now they are foreign investors. Chinese companies are established worldwide. They create jobs, and help development.
For now that's all what came to mind.