Are western companies able to freely compete in China? Last I checked, no, they need local partners at best, or are blocked completely at worst. And not just American but any outside company.

China is just as much of a guilty party as the “west” could be. From massive corporate espionage, open stealing of western IP, blocking western companies from entering markets. It is foolish to think they are not at some level an adversary. I would still absolutely buy a BYD car but China plays the same game, maybe even better, and that the west has also played for decades.

The hostility is a result of a long reading of history. If you think Chinese leadership has forgotten European colonialism, you are mistaken. If you want to understand how deeply the maximalist mindset runs in Chinese culture, look up what the name of the country - zhongguo - means. I love Chinese culture, and lived there, but make no mistake about how clear eyed their leadership is about competition with western hegemony.