Trade shows falsehood of decoupling: China Daily editorial

Since the presidential election in the United States, the incumbent administration has seemed intent on trying to accelerate the decoupling of the country from China and make it impossible for its successor to reverse that strategy. Yet the robust growth in trade between the two countries shows what a futile endeavor that is.

Over the first 11 months of this year, China's exports to the US grew 6.9 percent year-on-year, and US exports to China rose 7.2 percent, according to China's General Administration of Customs. Notably, China's exports to the US soared 46.1 percent in November, and the momentum is expected to continue this month and beyond.

Likewise, trade between China and almost all its major trade partners, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and Japan, has boomed.

As the only major economy that is likely to register positive growth this year, China has seen its foreign trade rise 1.8 percent from January to November and its actual use of foreign investment increase 6.3 percent year-on-year.

Which should remind both the incumbent US administration and its successor of the fact that although Washington may be able to set up some barriers to the healthy development of Sino-US relations, and drive a wedge between China and other countries, these moves are ultimately like trying to scoop all the water out of the oceans with a spoon.

The US cannot reverse the historical trend of economic globalization. And China is no longer a country that will concede to the gunboat demands of Western powers. And because of China's indispensable role in the global supply and value chains, due to its combination of huge market, strong manufacturing capacity and favorable business environment, it is almost irreplaceable.

Nor is there the need for the two countries to indulge the whims of a handful of US politicians seeking to hijack the most important bilateral ties in the world. The more difficult the times are, the more people need to climb high and gaze far, as Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the US, said recently. And the darker it becomes, the more people need to look for the brightness. Trade serves to shine a light on the benefits of engagement and cooperation.

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the pingpong diplomacy between the two countries. Now they have more common interests to protect, and more common global responsibilities to shoulder than half a century ago.

The world's recovery in the post-pandemic era calls for greater cooperation between the world's two largest economies. The deepening of their future engagement will only prove the foolishness of the zero-sum game being played by the potential hijackers.