US-China decoupling

Sales of “patriotic” products that tell the United States to butt out of their internal affairs are booming in China after last week’s fiery Alaskan summit. Just days after the summit ended, mobile phone cases, cigarette lighters, T-shirts, vacuum mugs, hoodies, umbrellas, canvas bags, pants and even beers carrying pro-Chinese sentiments have been selling fast on mainland China’s shopping website Taobao. Ads for the “patriotic” products promise immediate shipping while some online shops sell merchandise carrying slogans translated into English, such as, “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.” The products were inspired by quotes from China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi, in the

Nine out of 10 Americans view China as either an enemy or competitor rather than a partner, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The perception of China in the US corresponds with the recent sharp deterioration of relations between the two countries, with a majority of those surveyed in favor of pressuring Beijing on human rights and economic issues. Around 67% of respondents in the survey, released on Thursday, reported feeling “cold” toward China this year, up from 46% in 2018. “I don’t know if it [the US-China relationship] can get any lower,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But the fact that both R

In his first foreign policy address, US President Joe Biden on Thursday described China as the “most serious competitor” to the United States and vowed to confront Beijing on various fronts, including human rights, intellectual property and economic policy. Appearing at the State Department, Biden said his administration would “take on directly the challenges posed [to] our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor: China.” “We’ll confront China’s economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive actions, and push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance,” he said. “We’ll compete from a position of strength, by build

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused China of “genocide and crimes against humanity” for the country’s treatment of Uygur Muslims in its far-western region of Xinjiang.  The statements came on his last full day as America’s top diplomat. Pompeo’s accusations include arbitrary imprisonment of more than a million Uygurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, as well as torture and forced labor inflicted on these groups.  They are also consistent with comments President-elect Joe Biden has made. Pompeo said:  “Since at least March 2017, local authorities [in China] dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uygur Muslims and

When Donald Trump was elected US President in 2016, almost all of M Group Corporation’s high-end hotel furniture fittings were made in China. Now, after four years of being pummeled by anti-dumping duties, tariffs and extreme political volatility, about half are made in China, with the balance of production scattered around Vietnam, Malaysia and Eastern Europe. “We eventually came up with a solution, and the only real winner was my frequent flier program,” said the American company’s president H David Murray. “My eldest son and I traveled just about all over the world to find resources.” First Trump slapped 341% anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made quartz worktops, then followed up with tari

If Donald Trump and Joe Biden are to be believed, the upcoming presidential election is the most consequential in American history. But the race is also being closely watched around the world and few are following more closely than those whose lives and livelihoods are wrapped up in the US-China relationship. A seemingly endless cascade of actions in recent weeks – ranging from sanctions against Chinese officials over human rights abuses and their handling of Hong Kong, to stand-offs over Chinese tech companies – has seen relations fray to their most precarious in decades. To many caught in the middle, the prospect of a new administration in January provides the possibility of a pause, but

The Chinese government has asked the US to stop deepening its unofficial diplomatic relations with Taiwan, after Washington’s announcement of a new economic dialogue with the island. “We called on the US to ... stop official interaction with Taiwan in all forms,” said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday. Hua described the US Taiwan Relations Act, which allows for de facto diplomatic relations, as “illegal” and “invalid,” adding that it broke the one-China principle – under which Beijing insists that any country with which it has diplomatic relations must sever official links with Taipei. On Monday, US assistant secretary of state David Stilwell said

Lawmakers in Washington have introduced a bill to change the way the federal government refers to the leader of China, prohibiting the use of the term “president.” The Name the Enemy Act would require that official US government documents refer to the head of state according to his or her role as head of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. The Chinese leader, currently Xi Jinping, holds three official titles, none of which is president. The titles are head of state (guojia zhuxi, literally “state chairman”), chairman of the central military commission and general secretary of the CCP. Yet the English-speaking world, including President Donald Trump, has generally opted for “president,” whi

After the United States further tightened its restrictions on Chinese telecoms maker Huawei on Monday, analysts had only one word to describe the situation facing the company: impossible. In what has become a major battleground in the growing US-China tech rivalry, the Trump administration – which claims Huawei products could be used to facilitate spying by the Chinese government – has blacklisted a further 38 Huawei affiliates from buying US products. It aims to strangle the Chinese company by cutting off its ability to buy semiconductors produced using American technology. Since May, foreign chip makers using US technology have been required to apply for a license to sell chips to Huawei.

Nearly four in 10 members of an influential American business group are considering relocating from Hong Kong due to the city’s national security law, an indication of rising corporate fears over the sweeping new legislation, a recent poll revealed. Of the 154 firms surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham), 39% said they had plans to move capital, assets or operations out of the city after more details were revealed about the law, a rise from 35.5% of businesses polled in July. The remaining 61% said they had no plans to exit the city. On a personal level, 53% of respondents said they were considering leaving Hong Kong, while 46% said they had no plans to quit the c