Isolating China 'impossible' as world moves to multipolarism: Analyst

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: CNBC
23 May 16:02

An analyst says the world is moving beyond a unipolar world that had the US as its superpower to a bipolar or multipolar world.

A general view shows the G7, Partner Countries, and Ukraine meeting as a part of the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, on May 21, 2023 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)

An analyst warned that isolating China is "impossible" and "dangerous", following the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan, where the forum members focused the efforts against China.

In a final communique issued at a summit in Hiroshima, G7 leaders claimed that "our policy approaches are not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development. ... At the same time, we recognize that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying."

Giuliano Noci, vice-rector for China for Politecnico di Milano, told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Monday that the G7 showed a "unitarian" view against China.

"[President Joe] Biden spoke in terms of de-risking and not in terms of decoupling," Noci indicated.

"Decoupling was the magic word of the United States still a month ago, but it is very clear that, given the role played by the Chinese market for several products, given the level of intertwines among supply chains, it is almost impossible to decouple," he pointed out.

According to CNBC, de-risking refers to reducing part of reliance on China rather than halting the relationship completely.

Noci considered that "it should be clear that isolating China will be not only, on the one hand, impossible but also, on the other hand, dangerous."

CNBC considered that US President Joe Biden's administration's move may reflect the conclusion that it will take an incredible amount of work and economic suffering to decouple its economy from that of China.

According to data from the US Census Bureau, the United States recorded a $383 billion goods trade imbalance with China in 2022.

Last year's figures indicated a record high in commerce between the countries, demonstrating the challenges of isolating their economies.

Noci suggested that the world is moving beyond a unipolar world that had the US as its superpower to a bipolar or multipolar world.

The G7 leaders also warned against China's "militarization" in the South China Sea and said that "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait are "indispensable" to global security.

In the same context, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that China was the world’s greatest challenge to security and prosperity, which prompted the Chinese Embassy in London to slam the statements as "malicious slanders in disregard of the facts."