Decoupling

EAI academic Chen Gang notes that although the Chinese authorities are against the Western notion of “de-risking”, it has itself taken steps to de-risk, with ASEAN overtaking Europe and the US as China’s largest trade partner. As major countries are gaining ground in their de-risking strategies, the global south is set to benefit.

The China-US tech war has heated up again as China imposes export restrictions on two rare metals widely used in strategic emerging industries. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that this is a tit-for-tat move against the US for its export restriction of advanced chips and chipmaking technology to China. How will this latest move in the tech war affect the semiconductor industry and China-US relations?

While Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu have been doing well in achieving fast and high growth in the US market, they face commercial and regulatory challenges too and would need to undertake several risk mitigation strategies.

Former journalist Goh Choon Kang notes that while talk of decoupling has changed to de-risking, the strategic intent behind it, targeting China, has not changed. But just relying on allies is not the best solution, and countries in Asia affected by the tide of de-risking would need to work together to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade.

With China barring domestic operators of critical information infrastructure from procuring products from US chipmaker Micron as the latest move in the China-US chip war, there are concerns about whether moving too strongly might lead to China hurting itself instead. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing takes a look at how the chip war might play out.

Rhetoric by the Chinese elite of an America in decline has US political circles guessing at China’s intentions. In truth, even if talk of “decoupling” or “de-risking” from China is on the rise, this is still insufficient cause for war. Echo chambers amplifying the issue is the last thing both countries need.

Heritage Foundation researcher Min-Hua Chiang observes that China is fast losing its grip on its economic coercion strategy vis-à-vis Taiwan. With supply chains regrouping after a period of US-China trade war and geopolitical tensions, Taiwan has found greater support in its efforts to delink cross-strait issues with its economic survival.

Amid ongoing tensions, a high-level visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China in the coming week shows hope for improved relations between the two economic powerhouses. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while the meeting may not produce practical results, it is a much needed exchange to manage and control China-US relations from worsening.

While investments by Taiwanese enterprises in mainland China have declined due to geopolitical factors and Covid-19, many still have one foot in the massive domestic market. As a result, a number of Taiwanese enterprises have turned into “new mainland enterprises” as they integrate into the mainland’s domestic market. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han looks into where Taiwanese enterprises are moving towards.