This is John Batchez, speaking with my good colleague Gordon Chang at Gordon G. Chang,

about American enterprise in China these last dozen or more years, seeing great possibilities of the

Chinese market and then disappointment, frustration, puzzlement, retreat.

Asking Gordon, do American companies accept now that what we're dealing with is not the ordinary trading partner,

but a competitor that means to damage anybody who gets too close and take over the business of anybody who has anything original to sell.

In other words, something of a pirate stand.

Gordon answers carefully about how American businesses are adjusting without yet

giving up on the cheerful optimism of the American experiment. Here's Gordon, much more of this later

tonight. I think that American businessman and women still have an idealized view of China,

although, of course, they're starting to realize that the trade friction means that they need

to have alternate sources of supply.

So you're seeing companies develop what they call supply webs instead of supply chains.

In other words, multiple suppliers, because they're starting to understand how serious this is,

and they are now starting to source products in other countries.

But as Alan says, they are far too optimistic about the general trend of U.S.-China trade.