Mariya Grinberg
The Trump administration’s policy toward China remains difficult to parse, but calls to “de-risk” the U.S. economy or even to completely decouple from China still dominate Washington’s strategic debates. Advocates for decoupling urge the United States to revive domestic industries and make them resilient to external shocks, to “friend shore” key supply chains to allies and other well-disposed countries, and to secure reliable access to critical resources. Without such measures, analysts warn, China could strangle the U.S. economy in a crisis.
Already, Beijing’s decision in 2025 to block the export of certain rare-earth metals to the United States set alarm bells ringing in Washington. Analysts bemoan the possibility of “weaponized interdependence” and point to the vulnerabilities caused by the entanglement of the American and Chinese economies through globalization. This dynamic can have extreme implications. If a crisis between the United States and China were to somehow escalate to war, China could withhold important materials and components necessary for the defense industrial base, but it could also withhold other critical exports, such as pharmaceuticals.
No comments:
Post a Comment