头条英文播报︱US decoupling benefits none, expert says

[Illustration by Song Chen/China Daily]

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Beijing, Washington should ease trade conflict, build trust, symposium told

The United States and China should focus on their common causes instead of the "decoupling" envisioned by some pessimists, according to speakers at an international conference in Singapore.

The two countries must also ease their simmering trade conflict and cooperate to avoid a possible financial crisis and jointly build trust and collaboration, they said at the symposium, which opened on Wednesday.

The US is seen as having "attacked China in areas such as trade, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges", but both countries need to understand that their development complements and reinforces the other, said Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The center is hosting the two-day symposium jointly with the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Brookings Institution of the US.

Zeng said the idea of the US decoupling from China goes against the laws of economics, international rules and fair order.

Decoupling will benefit no one from a macroeconomic perspective, he said. It is evident that decoupling will severely damage the interests of businesses and consumers.

In trade, decoupling will lead to a man-made breakdown of the global value chain. As globalization expands, trade and investment are intertwined with massive cross-border flows of goods, services and production with a closely linked and inseparable global supply chain, industrial chain and value chain.

China and the US both hold important positions in the three global chains. If one forcefully gets out of the system, that will hurt the other as well as itself. For instance, as the US cuts off the supply of chips to Huawei, it also hurts its own companies.

He said the idea of pushing for decoupling China and the US and attempting to build an independent and exclusive industrial system has overlooked the complexity of the linkage of the three global chains.

Moreover, from the perspective of scientific advancement, decoupling does not comply with the trends and features of the digital economy era, said Zeng, who also served as a vice-premier.

Development and innovation of science and technology in the era of the digital economy is a process of the succession and integration of systems, which cannot be completed on one's own strengths, he said.

Even if independence could be realized at the technological end, it could not be achieved in a real sense in terms of application. Therefore, development and innovation of new technology emphasize more than ever cooperation and sharing, Zeng added.

He said both countries need to understand that their development can also complement and reinforce the other. Zeng said the latest round of trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington have made substantive progress in various areas.

"To oppose decoupling and step up cooperation is the only option that serves the interests of China and the US," Zeng told guests.

Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's former prime minister, discussed "growing global economic uncertainty" on the back of changing dynamics of the world's two biggest economies.

Goh said that the best way to ease conflict is "to forge a common cause for the two superpowers to build a better world".

He called for other Asian countries to offer a "voice of moderation" — a platform where parties can embody the shared values of strategic rationality, peace and stability, growth and prosperity and an interdependent, open, inclusive, rules-based multilateral order.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, executive vice-chairman and CEO of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said protectionism and unilateralism are against the principles of globalization and can weaken the world economy, adding that cooperation is the only way forward.

Former Thai deputy prime minister and foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai said Southeast Asian countries can help in amplifying this "voice of moderation". He said the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has demonstrated the capacity to collaborate and lead multilateralism.

He also said the Belt and Road Initiative is multilateral, given that infrastructure projects under its fold involve intraregional cooperation.

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记者：Prime Sarmiento
播报：Owen Fishwick

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【阅读背景】

中美关系国际研讨会在新加坡举行

“中美关系：为亚洲与世界发展打造共同愿景”国际研讨会30日在新加坡开幕。

来自中国、美国、欧盟、东南亚的政府官员、专家学者等出席此次研讨会，围绕“贸易与投资”、“多边主义及其他”、“科技创新与全球供应链”等议题进行探讨。

新加坡荣誉国务资政、李光耀公共政策学院主席吴作栋在研讨会上致辞表示，中美应增进相互理解、互信与合作，避免对抗，否则将对世界带来不利影响。他并指当今世界有两种可能的未来，一种是去全球化和走向割裂的道路，一种是走向缓和和发展的道路，向正确的方向前进才能有助于建立和平与繁荣的世界。

中国国际经济交流中心理事长曾培炎在致辞中认为，美国有些人提出的与中国“脱钩”是臆想的说法，任其发展会给中美两国和全球带来灾难。他呼吁双方应按照两国元首达成的共识，在平等和相互尊重的基础上妥善解决经贸摩擦问题，尽早达成全面经贸协议。同时，积极开拓新的合作领域，适时恢复此前建立的各政府间对话机制，加强全方位的交流。

中国国际经济交流中心常务副理事长张晓强就“贸易与投资”议题进行主旨发言时亦指出，要全面客观看待中美建交四十年经贸合作成就；要公正看待美国对外贸易逆差；要充分认识中美扩大双向投资的重要性。

此次研讨会由中国国际经济交流中心、美国布鲁金斯学会、新加坡李光耀公共政策学院等主办，会期两天。(来源：中新社)