- Question
Could the US and Chinese economies really 'decouple'?
Could the deeply intertwined economies of the United States and China actually separate? This entry sets out the two positions on the question — that the US and Chinese economies could decouple, and that they could not.
Position 1 of 2
Read this position →Yes, the US and Chinese economies could 'decouple'
The case that the two economies could decouple: that supply patterns follow relative cost and political risk has changed it, and that separation would arrive through accumulated divergence in standards and systems rather than severed trade.
Position 2 of 2
Read this position →No, the US and Chinese economies could not 'decouple'
The case that the two economies could not decouple: that the dependence sits in industrial clusters and tacit know-how which cannot be relocated, and that every step toward separation costs the side taking it until the trade reroutes instead.