> This is just an appeal to hypocrisy and doesn't really discredit your parent's argument, which is more on topic.

So, we are supposed to accept the following:

- criticizing China, a relatively poor country, for stealing IP is OK. The world must confront China on these practices

- the US has the high ground, since it is not stealing IP (now)

Now I point out that the US has reached its current position as tech leader by doing roughly the same, and basically you tell me

- we are not talking about the US

- what the US did decades (centuries?) ago is not the topic of discussion, and it is not relevant to the discussion

How is my evidence not relevant to the discussion?

Now let me try to clarify what I am saying:

The technology lead that US has has been achieved largely by doing what the US is trying to prevent other countries from doing now. This technology lead has a huge impact on the world (the American tax), and the world should refuse to pay it. The world should follow exactly the same approach that the US followed in the past: disregard the rules, and concentrate on their own interests.

Because the system is rigged.

Drawing rules once you have achieved a dominant position, and trying to enforce them in order for others to remain behind and continue paying the tax to the tech leader is not in the interest of the world.

Once we have a balanced situation, you can think about putting rules for everybody to follow. "Everybody" means that there must be an independent organization, not politicized, in charged of enforcing the rules.