What’s at stake:
Phrases like “decoupling,” “de-risking” and “China for China” – coined and overused in recent commentaries – reveal how Western business leaders’ struggle to come up with China strategies that justify their actions. It’s time to think beyond trade jargons. The business community needs to start articulating how it wants to work with China.
Many executives in the West already know that “decoupling” is simply silly when the foundations of an industry like semiconductors are built on international markets and a global supply chain.
“De-risking” illustrates Western corporations’ current trepidation toward doing business with China. Corporate leaders can’t predict the Chinese Communist Party’s next move, and they worry about fresh sanctions imposed on China by the United States.