well then it's not very much like China is it.

Of course not. Because to make it work, the US would need a Communist Party that isn't totally useless. And no one who lived through the Cold War is going to allow that to happen.

Yes, the People's Republic of China is the only China

There is so little introspection on the mater, too.

But perhaps the most important lesson is to stay true to who we are as a nation.

Oh ok, so what does that mean?

That’s what China did. It adopted aspects of the American way that would make it strong again, while sticking to its core system of Communist Party political domination and heavy state involvement in everything. And it has been spectacularly successful.

Hmm, right I see. So China did market reforms but maintained its communist state, got it! So, Communist State + Market Reforms (aka do a little capitalism) = Great Success! But what about America?

Trump’s America, on the other hand, is beginning to seem as if it’s taking cues from China’s political model. That’s not who we are.

Oh. Ok, Which parts of China's political model, exactly? Hmm, it doesn't say. This could mean anything. Is it the "core system of [...] political domination and heavy state involvement in everything." but without the Communist Party? If only the author had come to some kind of conclusion about what exactly Trump is appropriating from the Chinese model. If Trump is doing the "bad" part of the model, what part of the Chinese model are we supposed to be doing, exactly? If doing a little "capitalism" for China = Good, are we supposed to be ... doing a little ... communism in America? What would that even look like, I wonder. Nothing comes to mind, I guess.

The United States can and should consider adopting some of what has worked for China, such as transitioning to renewables; revitalizing industrial policy; supporting science, research and education; reinvesting in infrastructure, housing and safe cities; and above all, having a sense of collective purpose that leads to national strength.

Instead, Mr. Trump’s administration is undermining or slashing funding for critical things such as public safety, infrastructure, education, scientific research, clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing, while fanning political divisions.

Oh, I see, this is what we should be doing. That seems obvious, right? But why can we never actually seem to get there? What is it, exactly, that makes China so on task, so focused, and so driven to meet these goals?

It’s natural for Americans who want a better future to look, albeit grudgingly, at what China has achieved. To be sure, leaders in Beijing don’t have a messy democracy to get in the way of their plans, but that’s hardly the only reason for China’s success. It came also from strategic foresight, investing in the future, a sense of national focus and unity — not division — that comes from the top and millions of individuals working hard to build the country up. China followed America’s lead, but it stuck to its own systems and stayed focused on meeting the basic needs of its population.

Is it really "millions of individuals", that make all these dreams a reality in China? What can the author tell us about Chinas "own systems" which it "stuck to"? How does a Country like China build "a sense of national focus and unity", which of its systems ensures this unity? How does its systems handle division? What are these systems exactly? Come on, author, you've been in China since 2008. You can't elaborate on any of these things?

What is the healthcare in China like? It may not be true universal healthcare, but surely it's nothing like the "die of poverty from crippling medical debt before the terminal cancer kills you" style of US healthcare?

They have universal public option for insurance to cover the bases. People who can afford it also get supplementary private insurance. This is more or less same as Australia or Germany. The only difference is that being a developing country with large population the basic public option is not as good.