China-U.S. decoupling neither feasible nor reasonable

Photo taken on Aug. 21, 2020 shows a logo of the video-sharing social networking company TikTok's Los Angeles Office in Culver City, Los Angeles County, the United States. (Xinhua)

A U.S. federal judge has halted U.S. administration's TikTok ban, which shows Washington's pirate-like action under the guise of national security has little support and legal justification.

Meanwhile, many U.S. companies have sued the government in the last two weeks over the imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made goods. Washington's attempt to separate the U.S. economy from China has proved to be unpopular and against market economy principles.

While some U.S. politicians trumpeted a unilateral decoupling, with actions such as blocking TikTok and increasing tariffs, a complete decoupling will be almost impossible.

While there has been considerable talk about U.S. companies moving production or supply chains out of China, very few companies are doing this, as data showed in a report recently released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

The decoupling is impractical to implement, given the close connection between the two economies. Bilateral trade volume has increased by over 250 times since the early days of diplomatic ties, and two-way investment has jumped from almost zero to nearly 240 billion U.S. dollars.

Over 70,000 American businesses have made investments in China with a total sales volume of 700 billion U.S. dollars, and 97 percent among them are making a profit.

Instead of being a favor granted by one side to the other, economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States benefits each other.

The world today is in an era of globalization. The integration of various economies is a natural product of the international division of labor. The world will never go back to the time when countries kept their markets closed to each other.

China will continue to work with all countries to maintain a fair, just, open, and non-discriminatory business environment.

China will promote international exchanges and cooperation in areas ranging from the economy and trade to science and technology.

Burying one's head in the sand like an ostrich in the face of economic globalization or trying to fight it with Don Quixote's lance goes against the trend of history. Washington should give up obsession with its "decoupling theory" and return to the right track of openness and cooperation.