"De-risking" from China is a false proposition

The Western "de-risking" concept would increase risks, fragmentation and uncertainty for the world economy.

Participants in the recent Summer Davos Forum poured cold water on the Western "de-risking" concept -- a false proposition based on zero-sum ideology and confabulation.

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said this week that decoupling or de-risking would be a brutal act of "suicide" committed by the European economy. He made the comments at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, or the Summer Davos, in north China's Tianjin, and added that cutting ties between China and Europe would cause huge damage to the European economy.

Some Western politicians have promoted the idea of "de-risking" from China this year. Yet executives of companies attending the forum told Xinhua that enterprises must not be swayed by such an illusion, and that not cooperating with China would be the biggest risk for their corporate development, given the huge market and industry environment of the world's second-largest economy.

This aerial photo shows a "DPD France" international freight train pulling out of the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Facts, trends and logic prove the "de-risking" proposition to be unrealistic and false.

After a long history of economic globalization, today's world is a "global village." Countries are linked with one another to a degree never seen before. The common interests shared by countries are becoming more and more extensive. No country can stay detached from major global crises and challenges.

Joint efforts can accomplish things. All countries must be resolute in working together to tackle the major crises facing mankind and the globe, while keeping on the right track of win-win cooperation for common prosperity. For this, visible and invisible barriers should be removed, and dialogue must be strengthened to bridge differences and expand common ground.

In the new era, the rapid advance of new technologies such as digital technology and artificial intelligence is creating more favorable conditions for economic globalization. The world should never again return to a state of seclusion or isolation. Cooperation is not a matter of choice; it is the only and inevitable choice.

Drawing ideological lines or promoting group politics and bloc confrontation will only divide the world, and hinder global development and human progress. De-risking and decoupling would lead nowhere but economic "suicide" for the initiators.

History has proven that multilateralism, solidarity and cooperation are the inevitable choices for coping with global challenges, especially economic and trade issues. All countries should replace division with unity, confrontation with cooperation, and exclusion with inclusiveness.

The so-called "de-risking" idea violates the basic principles of free trade and undermines the multilateral trading system. It goes against the irreversible trend that world economies have long been intertwined with each other, with cooperation, coordination and complementarity among countries being prominent features.

Deeply integrated into the world economy, China has embraced globalization and served as an important anchor and source of impetus for free trade and stable growth in the world. China's trade in goods ranked top in the world for six years in a row. China is a major trading partner of over 140 countries and regions, including Europe and the United States. On average, China's contribution to global growth was more than 30 percent over the past decade.

The Western "de-risking" concept would increase risks, fragmentation and uncertainty for the world economy. Those who tout "de-risking" should return to reason and reality before they harm their countries too much. [Xinhua]