The Soviet Union was already closed. Containment pushed on an open door.
The Soviet Union was barely integrated into the global economy. Its trade-to-GDP ratio never exceeded about 10%. Its share of global exports never exceeded about 4% — dominated by oil and gas, which accounted for roughly 40% of Soviet convertible-currency exports. Its imports from the West were dominated by grain and capital goods — machinery, pipe, and turnkey plants — which it paid for with oil and gas. The asymmetry was the point: the USSR imported technology, it did not export it.
China is the opposite. Its merchandise trade-to-GDP ratio peaked at roughly 64% in 2006 and remains above 30% in 2024. The absolute numbers are larger than the US equivalent: $6.2 trillion in combined merchandise trade in 2024, compared to $5.3 trillion for the United States. China is the largest goods exporter in the world. It is the largest trading partner for more than 120 countries. Its exports are embedded in global supply chains. Its imports are essential inputs to manufacturing in Vietnam, India, Mexico, and the United States itself.
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