The recent Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima and the subsequent Group of 20 tourism meeting in Kashmir underscored the stark contrast between the two groups’ rhetoric.
While the G20 emphasized its “one Earth, one family, one future” motto, the G7’s combative attitude could be summarized as “We must divorce China.”
For the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, decoupling is not an option. While the region could benefit from production and investment shifting away from China to ASEAN countries, a full economic decoupling between the Chinese economy and the West could also result in trade diversion, higher production costs and reduced welfare over the long term.