There Was No Housing Bubble and Everyone Agrees We Have to Crack Down On China's Practices on Intellectual Property — Dean Baker

Okay, at the risk of not getting included in the happy consensus, I will make a few points here.

My thoughts exactly. Tackling China is just plain crazy, especially when the US was benefitting in real terms of trade and China was still willing to save in USD. Those days are nearly over for the US and hopefully the newly rising China will overlook a century or so of humiliation, including the latest episode.

As Dean Baker points out, intellectual property has become a bug rather than a feature, and technology sharing is a a good idea for everyone — in a sane world.

Moreover, practically speaking, the Chinese economy is already larger the US figured on the basis of PPP, which is what counts economically rather than the absolute size of nominal GDP without deconstruction, as Dean Baker also observes. 

For example, the US spends a huge amount on military and FIRE accounts for a sizable portion of GDP, while R&D and infrastructure lag. Conversely, China is hugely investing in infrastructure and R&D, gets more bang for the buck in military spending, and doesn't have an outsized FIRE sector in comparison with the US.

Beat the Press
There Was No Housing Bubble and Everyone Agrees We Have to Crack Down On China's Practices on Intellectual Property

Dean Baker | Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C

See also

My view is that far from "winning" this round, DJT blinked. With the election coming he decided to postpone the real negotiation until after the election, on the assumption he will win owing to a good economy.

Angry Bear
The US-China Nothing Burger Trade Deal
J. Barkley Rosser | Professor of Economics and Business Administration James Madison University

Econbrowser
The “Deal”: Much Ado about Nothing
Menzie Chinn