According to recent reports from the US media, reporter Niya Kitchenmelina Kolb published an article entitled "The trade war has entered its fourth year, has China and the United States "decoupled"? 》, pointing out that the Chinese and US economies have always been closely linked for decades. The relationship is so close that it is difficult to quantify whether, how, and why it weakens. Will the tension between the two superpowers lead to economic "decoupling"? Yes, but not.
On the one hand, some products imported by the United States from China, including information technology hardware and consumer electronics, , have also decreased, and the import of clothing, footwear and furniture has also decreased. But on the other hand, the number of laptops, computer monitors, mobile phones, electronic game consoles and toys imported from China has hit a record high. Even if policymakers predict that "decoupling" of two economies will be beneficial in the long run, their choices will inevitably cause direct losses.
These losses include product shortages, supply chain adjustment difficulties, and inflation companies will find it expensive to find new suppliers. Businesses and ultimate consumers need to pay the price for the new policy. Since the trade war, the total amount of goods imported from China by the United States has continued to decline. Trump 's trade war affected imports in the expected way. However, the number of certain products imported by the United States from China has surged. Products not affected by the trade war are now imported 50% higher than before the trade war. Starting from 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown measures, many Americans have begun to work, study and play from home.
This greatly increases the demand for certain products, many of which are imported from China, such as laptops, computer monitors, mobile phones, electronic game consoles and toys. Before the trade war, these products combined accounted for 21% of the total U.S. imports from China, and now this proportion has increased to 27%. Despite signs that the supply chains of these products are diversified and trends from foreign procurement, the "decoupling" between China and the United States is not very obvious here. During the trade war, the Trump administration deliberately chose not to impose tariffs on these products because of fear that consumers would blame tariffs for the apparent rise in prices of such goods.
So this strange phenomenon happened. The more White House wants to decouple from China, the more the United States is inseparable from China. This is because the trade war has damaged the supply chain and led to economic losses to the United States. Therefore, American suppliers and consumers can only try their best to reduce costs, and where suppliers can reduce costs? You guessed it, it is China. The reason is that simple. It is obvious that the United States cannot gain trade competitiveness through a trade war. Text/PY
