They say this while using government to prevent import of superior vehicles, just like they did for Japan in the 90s (chicken tax anyone?)

In a thought experiment where they didn’t, the auto market would be healthier.

In another thought experiment where Japanese electronic and software industry didn’t become monopolized due to similar state involvement, it could have kept positions.

So yes, free market is good, except free market is a situation that can’t be created by free market alone. You can’t keep free market having only free market. It’s not a magic spell that makes any heap of stuff to suddenly reorganize into something working by itself. It’s a philosophy of protections, where competition should be maintained and all kinds of pressure and coercion should be minimized.

Those protections have to be made for free market to exist. And that’s the thing, they are very hard to make and require, quoting Harry Potter, constant vigilance.

That’s called mercantilism and not communism.

There’s another word - mercantilism.

No, they shouldn’t, but it’ll be the same thing that US tech companies did, more or less.

I think the environment, in terms of IP and patents and running a company, should be made easier in the EU, otherwise there will be no domestic competition. Unfortunately those seem to only become stricter over time.

For China mercantilism works, because of enormous size of their own market, and pretty strong competition inside it with lax rules.