There’s a lot of talk about decoupling the Chinese and Western economies.
The most ambitious version of that vision, that of two separate spheres of economic influence, is nonsense. There is no way to split the global economy, nor the need: Much economic integration is good for both sides and bifurcation serves only the most desperate, vicious and shortsighted.
Interdependence at the high end of the economy is another matter. Decoupling here is possible — and worked during the Cold War. But tools from that era aren’t fit for the purpose today. New mechanisms are already being discussed. Businesses should get ready.
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