The relations of America and the EU with China, between decoupling and derisking

A year ago, a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US secretary of state, Janet Yellen, suggested “friendshoring” (doing business with “friendly” countries) as a weapon against the blackmailing power of undemocratic nations on which the West depends for supplies of raw materials. Two days ago Yellen, speaking at Johns Hopkins University, said that cutting off trade relations with China would be a mistake for everyone. In between is the awareness that decoupling the American economy from the Chinese one (“decoupling”) is not so simple unless you want to destroy the globalization built in the last 30 years without having an alternative that guarantees economic growth.