It's unfair to expect South East Asian nations to decouple from the world's second-largest economy.
Leaders of ASEAN member countries pose for a family photo at the 42nd ASEAN Summit held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, May 10, 2023. Credit: ASEAN
The recent G7 summit in Hiroshima and the subsequent G20 tourism meeting in Kashmir underscored the stark contrast between the two groups’ rhetoric. While the G20 emphasized its “one Earth, one family, one future” motto, the G7’s combative attitude could be summarized as “We must divorce China.”
For the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), decoupling is not an option. While the region could benefit from production and investment shifting away from China to ASEAN countries, a full economic decoupling between the Chinese economy and the West could also result in trade diversion, higher production costs, and reduced welfare over the long term.
Kao Kim Hourn is currently serving as ASEAN's Secretary-General. Credit: WEF via Flickr
The push to decouple the American and European economies from China currently seems to be limited to sectors such as energy, semiconductors, information and communication technology, mining, and miner
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Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative under Donald Trump, reflects on his decision to launch the trade war with China and begin the process of "strategic decoupling" — a process he says the U.S. must see through to the end.
