Has the “Great Decoupling” Gone Viral?
Nowadays, it is common to hear arguments warning of a bifurcation of the global economy into mutually exclusive American and Chinese spheres of influence. But, 18 months after the first shots in the Sino-American trade war were fired, the situation is more complicated than that, owing not just to economic realities and the new coronavirus outbreak, but also each country's political priorities.
NEW YORK – The increasingly nonchalant deployment of the term “decoupling” to describe the long-term trajectory of US-China relations demonstrates anew that in diplomacy, words can be bullets. Of course, for some, “decoupling” simply reflects today’s unfolding reality, whereas for others, it is the desired outcome.