A Washington think tank's claim that China's manufacturing dominance is crowding out developing economies has drawn sharp rebuttal from economists, business leaders, and policy analysts who argue the premise rests on a flawed, zero-sum view of global trade. The 'China squeeze' theory, advanced by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, assumes manufacturing opportunity is finite — a notion that critics say collapses under the weight of real supply-chain data. From textile machinery exports to trillion-dollar overseas investment, the evidence suggests China has more often served as