"Decoupling and Broken Chain" erodes the foundation of global efficient cooperation. Broken Chain | United States | Global
US Treasury officials recently stated that the US government is considering restricting the flow of US investment and technology to Chinese companies in fields such as advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. This kind of behavior that violates economic laws and harms others rather than oneself seriously undermines market rules and international economic and trade order, erodes the foundation of efficient global cooperation, threatens the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and endangers the recovery and development of the world economy.
In recent years, some American politicians have become increasingly anxious about China. They see China growing and developing, so they treat it as a hypothetical enemy and view China US relations with a zero sum Cold War mindset. This directly leads to frequent incompetence by the US government, an increasingly heavy economic burden, and an increasing number of domestic problems. Wise individuals from the international community, including the United States, have made rational voices on China US relations more than once. Former US Treasury Secretary Summers stated that the US should focus on building its own economic advantage rather than attacking China. International Monetary Fund President Georgieva and former World Bank Chief Economist Goldberg have also called on the United States to reflect on the economic war against China.
Why is the actions of the US government unpopular? Because it deviates from the true intentions and interests of the American industry. Recently, American executives have been launching trips to China. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has clearly expressed opposition to "decoupling and chain breaking", expressing the opinions of many American business people. In the past few years, Tesla has deeply cultivated the Chinese market and achieved remarkable results. In 2022, Tesla's Shanghai factory delivered 710000 vehicles throughout the year, exceeding half of its global delivery volume. Some people in the United States attempt to unilaterally cut off each other's trade and forcibly cut off technological exchanges and interactions between China and the United States, which will harm the substantial profits of American enterprises.
"Decoupling and breaking the chain" is unpopular because it ignores and goes against the trend of economic globalization. For decades, economic globalization has driven the continuous extension and expansion of industrial chains, value chains, and supply chains. The global flow of production factors has provided strong impetus for the world economy, converging into an unstoppable trend of globalization. Blindly engaging in trade and technology wars, artificially building walls and barriers, and forcefully promoting decoupling and chain breaking will come at a huge cost. The International Monetary Fund warns that if there is severe trade fragmentation, its long-term costs will account for 7% of global output; If technology decoupling is added, some countries may suffer losses as high as 12% of their gross domestic product.
The essence of China US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit. The fundamental common interests of China and the United States are non conflict, non confrontation, and peaceful coexistence. The deep integration of the economies of China and the United States is facing new development tasks, and we need to benefit from each other's development, which is also a common interest. Therefore, both sides must develop good relations between China and the United States, not only by accurately steering the wheel, but also by timely stepping on the brakes to avoid dangerous driving, and also by being good at stepping on the accelerator to promote mutually beneficial cooperation.
In an increasingly interconnected world, technological containment is equivalent to self isolation. The US should listen carefully to rational voices, abandon zero sum thinking, and stop politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing economic, trade, and technological issues.
