Is it really a problem? Obviously, now, it is. But everything is a problem.
Having the supply chain less globalized doesn't mean there is an excess. Now, there is a shortage of surgical masks, but that's because the demand is too high, not just because they are made in China.
You have to balance efficiency and reliability. And normally, the global supply chain is very efficient, and surprisingly reliable. Black swan events happen regularly and besides a few price hikes and some company coming and going, business continues as usual. A de-globalized supply chain will certainly be able to deal with such event better, but at the expense of permanent inefficiencies.
Of course, right now, it is far from "business as usual", but that's because there is a freaking virus in the air, and if you catch it, you may die. Still, you can still buy food, and the essential shortages are of things that are directly related to the disease, like masks, hand sanitizers, and respirators.
And governments and companies alike do plan for shortages. Most countries produce more food than necessary to account for the risk of famine. There is a reserve of essential medical items, and it is being used right now... within reason.
One thing is for sure, it is too soon to draw conclusions.
It doesn't take much of a thought experiment to understand it could be a problem. China and the US have worsening relations, what if they get much worse? We are at their mercy.
Also, isn't competition a good thing? If the companies of the world had dual supply chains, in China and elsewhere, that would foster competition, which isn't just good for a lower price, but also for higher quality.
But that's not accurate either. In this analogy China would in fact be hosting thousands of different servers. There is no "China Business"; there are businesses in China.
A more apt comparison would be between cloud providers (which are the supply chains of modern IT) - do you want to stay at AWS's mercy, or expand to Azure and GCP as well? Maybe you should consider Linode or DigitalOcean as well? There are pros and cons to those approaches - both in experiences, pricing, innovation, etc. The same applies to global supply chains.
Having the supply chain less globalized doesn't mean there is an excess. Now, there is a shortage of surgical masks, but that's because the demand is too high, not just because they are made in China.
You have to balance efficiency and reliability. And normally, the global supply chain is very efficient, and surprisingly reliable. Black swan events happen regularly and besides a few price hikes and some company coming and going, business continues as usual. A de-globalized supply chain will certainly be able to deal with such event better, but at the expense of permanent inefficiencies.
Of course, right now, it is far from "business as usual", but that's because there is a freaking virus in the air, and if you catch it, you may die. Still, you can still buy food, and the essential shortages are of things that are directly related to the disease, like masks, hand sanitizers, and respirators.
And governments and companies alike do plan for shortages. Most countries produce more food than necessary to account for the risk of famine. There is a reserve of essential medical items, and it is being used right now... within reason.
One thing is for sure, it is too soon to draw conclusions.