The world is going full steam-on to WWIII :-(

— If gentlemen lose, they change the rules of the game.

This is basically your average read-between-the-lines translation, given the recent context of Nexperia, Huawei, Tiktok, Chinese car import tariffs, what have you:

If we were the ones who invented processors, iPhones, and all the rest — then you, oh the slant-eyed ones, are expected to fork over the cash.

We, the mighty Anglo-Saxons, labored and sowed, and we deserve our reward. As for you, the slovenly types — you may keep 10% of the price for assembly, another 20% for components, and the rest goes straight to the casino’s profits.

But if you come up with your own processors, stop buying ours, and even start making your own batteries, software, or cars — then you’re expected to hand over all the technology behind them. We’ll decide for ourselves what to make, in what quantities, and whether we’ll even pay you anything at all. Meanwhile, if you dare bring your goods to our markets — well then, you’ll pay us with your inventions.

full circle right? 20yrs ago it was china forcing foreign firms to transfer tech to local jv partners...

Europe's decline becomes glaringly obvious if they start to admit that they need to catch on to more developed countries...