Why does China prevail over U.S.?

The majority of items my wife and I have purchased within the past two years have been made in China. After reading the editorial “China stakes claim on the afterlife,” in the Inter Lake, I can see why — a $343 billion trade deficit. Why is it that our government doesn’t insist on an equal trade agreement? And further, it is inconceivable that our government is in debt to China for $1.3 trillion dollars. —Poul Houlberg, Kalispell