Is China a partner or a predator?

Your editorial pointing out that “America’s economic relationship with China is a win-win symbiosis, not some mugging by a sneaky competitor unbound by our rules of fair trade” (Jan. 13) is a breath of fresh air.

China is detested by many people because of its communist ideology and shallow media portrayals that dehumanize its leaders and citizens. China’s 1.3 billion people are beginning to prosper in a market economy and are desiring to be like Americans in the pursuit of consumer goods. The emerging prosperity for many Chinese is possible because China is becoming a more open and freer society. I think we should rejoice in these changes and appreciate our interdependence.

VIRGINIA C. LI

Pacific Palisades

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It seems to matter little to The Times that high-paying American manufacturing jobs have been lost so that we Americans can get a discount at Wal-Mart and Costco. As a former manufacturing professional who lost his job when the work was shipped over to China, I found my job loss to be more than a temporary inconvenience.

At the time, I felt confident that another comparable job could be found. It was not to be, as the politicians who allowed China into the World Trade Organization in 2001 never figured out that U.S. jobs would disappear in just a few short years. The amount of money allocated by NAFTA to worker education and retraining was woefully inadequate. Seemingly, the need to build fire stations and schools in Baghdad trumped the need to make good on a trade agreement’s promises to the American worker.

The fact that these trade deficits allow the Chinese to buy U.S. Treasury bills every year so that the Washington politicians can go out and borrow some more hot money does not seem to bother The Times. How long will it be before our Communist Party bosses in Beijing decide to pull their money when we don’t go along with their global ambitions?

GEOFFREY LENART

Ventura