I'd be happy to pay for actual, real shipping cost unsubsidized for the cheap stuff. Due to the volumes, it wouldn't be massively expensive either, and it would be a simple, fair system.
This is way better than building excessive barriers instead. That's something I don't want. Just remove all subsidizing and let the free market sort it out.
I like to do business with the Chinese because often there is fairly innovative or at least functional tech business with at least manageable customer service, and it's not bloated beyond usable by either ridiculously high quality standards (on paper), or ridiculously greedy multi-level profit margin and multi-step "authorized distributor" bullshit system. (The problem isn't only about price; I can communicate my needs in days with the Chinese, but going in negotiations with Western tech companies may easily take months, and require participation of non-technical personnel, i.e., the "suit guys". I'm an engineer, I just want to buy components for my product, is it so hard to understand?)
Let me give an example: when in need of a custom designed optical lens for LED beam shaping (i.e., I need both optical simulation to my parameters, then injection molds), there are approx three options for a startup:
1) Outsource to China what they can do best,
2) Don't do anything.
3) Instead of actual design work, do a Design-for-Investors (DFI) mockup, hire marketing guys, and make collecting investor money in millions your goal, preventing you from working innovatively with your actual goal, so that you get your $1000000 to do the most trivial tasks. After you have your $1M, you have most likely lost your focus and are already a stale tech fraud startup and looking for another $1M or $2M to keep it going a bit longer.
Western players either won't talk with you at all, or quote you $10000 for an optical simulation, talking utter bullshit about how much expertise it requires and how much it costs yada yada, totally not understanding your requirements about "this doesn't need to be perfect". In reality, it's still a half-an-hour job. But it's taking half an hour for ten managers and ten salesperson as well.
Now, just by posting my needs on Alibaba, I had several Chinese do the optical simulation for free, and the results were just as expected. Then, you get to injection molding. The Western quote for a "optical quality" prototype mold is $30000 - if you can find someone who talks with you to begin with. From China, it's $800. And finally, the lenses I have here now are just as I expected, no issues whatsoever.
In Western technology, I sometimes think we have totally lost our reason. Doing anything can easily cost you $10000/hour. It's a free market, mostly dominated by dysfunctional industry giants who need to outsource every job, and they can pay $10000/hr, so for a subcontractor, why take lower-paying jobs?
Chinese engineering has brought us product segments that simply didn't exist; not competiting with "the West" at all. I can buy a Western $5000 servo motor with great specifications and all that jazz, and anyone who bought this product before "the China syndrome", still buys exactly the same product and won't even thing about getting to Alibaba. But now there is a new segment, I can buy a $50 servo motor with decent specifications. The purpose is different, the customers are different. This possibility also drives Western innovation.
Sometimes it's about harsh competition and pushing prices down, but really, this isn't always the case. Often it's getting something that wouldn't exist otherwise.