American consumers have never been that concerned about privacy. /gestures vaguely at Facebook, Microsoft, Google/Android…

The issue, I think, has always been “well Washington is the devil we know and Beijing is kinda evil.” Whereas I think, neither one of them care about my privacy, but I’m not important enough for Beijing to care about.

I’d consider a BYD car, at least as much as I’d consider a lot of brands. None of them respect your privacy. BYD is attractive because they’re inexpensive. My next worry would not be “what does Beijing do with my data,” but, “can I get this car repaired where I live? Does it use standard parts or would they need to be imported from China?” I’m not being rude, racist, or prejudicial here. It’s a genuine concern. If I’m paying for a car, and it breaks down, I need my transportation, to keep going to work, to make the money to pay for the car and for my food and the roof over my head. And if those parts can be sourced locally and local mechanics can work on it, that’s more likely to happen faster.

Now as far as China goes, I think we need to stop thinking of China as adversarial (even though it may be) and just think of it as a country out for its own interests that is not aligned with us. That does not make China our enemy, and it especially does not mean we cannot ethically consume Chinese goods.