Decouple from China

At a time when a change in government looks likely in the United States, countries around the world must be wondering about the China factor in US politics. Will Joe Biden give China a free pass as it looks to dethrone the US as the world’s numero-uno power, or will US interests prevail under the new President? In this regard, India has shown what decoupling can mean, if a country is serious about it. From the apps ban and the gradual weaning away of industry from cheap Chinese manufacturing, to greater scrutiny of Chinese investment coming into the country, to not letting Huawei roll out 5G, India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is setting an example of courageous policy which is worth emulating. It goes without saying that since China is the manufacturing hub of the world—courtesy the “generosity” of nations such as the US and Japan—decoupling from it will not be easy for any country. But even if the process is initially painful, it must be started and India has shown the path towards this direction. In the last eight months, the coronavirus pandemic, which is still raging across the world, showed the problem that putting all eggs in one basket can cause. Supply chains got disrupted and are still hobbled to a large extent, even as countries try to cope with a virus that was released either by mistake or design and has been destroying lives and livelihoods in a manner that only the most devastating wars do. As China refuses to be held accountable for the virus it has unleashed on the world, and worse, tries to cover up its mistakes, “Made in China” becomes anathema, which provides a huge opportunity to the rest of the word to decouple from that country. But if corporates make profit their motive and if greed decides policy, then the process of decoupling is unlikely to materialise soon. And that is what seems to be happening. There is already speculation that big-tech threw their weight behind Joe Biden in the hope that he would be more lenient towards China in his policies, unlike Donald Trump, whose trade war is believed to have caused immense economic hardships to China. Although Biden has been very harsh in his criticism of China during campaigning, a strong buzz is building that this is the beginning of China’s economic revival. It’s true that Democratic Presidents and Democrats in general have worked towards the integration of China with the global economic mainstream, thinking this will make the Chinese system transparent, open and less authoritarian—in vain. China is as closed as ever, and now even more dangerous, as it believes its time has come to push the world towards a bipolarity, where the US dominates for a while longer one pole and China the other, which is Eurasia. In fact, under Xi Jinping, China is ready to use all means possible to reach a stage where it is a unipolar world order led by China. But can a totalitarian country that does not believe in liberty, democracy and other human values that form the core of the free world be allowed to be the leading superpower, directing the destiny of humanity in the 21st century? All the more reason that decoupling from China must happen, apart from the fact that doing business with China especially in the field of high-tech means giving the key of the world to a surveillance state. After a coronavirus-induced hiatus, China is trying to get back on its feet and is trying to project itself in an attractive light. But China cannot be trusted, and it is hoped that decoupling from China will become a reality the world over, and corporate greed will not derail the process. It is hoped that just like India, the US under President Biden will understand its own interest and not continue to facilitate and encourage the rise of China as a behemoth. The world can do without such a doomsday situation.