I mean you're either in a war period or a pre-war period ...
Although yeah the whole propping up non-democracies because they have cheap labor or cheap materials for decades does seem to have been a poor decision in the long run.
"You" are still doing it, your Western governments looked the other way at killing of more than 300+ pro-democracy protesters by our government forces at the beginning of 2022 because it was convenient for them to do so. Half of worldwide supply of uranium fuel and all that. These things will be remembered for decades.
Although yeah the whole propping up non-democracies because they have cheap labor or cheap materials for decades does seem to have been a poor decision in the long run.