Beijing: They have the largest economies in the world. They spend more than anyone else on their militaries. From high-tech chips to control of the high seas, their interests are closely intertwined.
The ongoing sharp deterioration in US-China ties poses risks to both countries and the rest of the world.
In the latest escalation, a US consulate in Chengdu in southwestern China shuttered Monday, ordered by China to close in retaliation for the U.S. shutting down its consulate in Houston last week.
With the US presidential campaign heating up, all bets are that relations with China will only get worse.
Both countries already have suffered heavy losses in a tariff war that erupted in 2018 over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus. If talks on ending the dispute fail, the world could face downward pressure on trade at a time when the global economy is already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
The United States is China’s biggest single-country export market, even after President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese goods. And China is the No. 3 market for American exporters, as well as a huge market for goods and services produced in China by U.S. companies ranging from General Motors Co. to Burger King.
But if the two can’t resolve broader differences on trade, it will be a blow not only to their exporters but also to other Asian economies that supply China’s factories with raw materials and components.
China is also a top market for Apple and other U.S. tech brands, and is increasingly becoming a technology competitor with its own brands in smartphones, medical equipment and other fields. (AP)
