China pursues anti-decoupling strategy to counter US trade pressure

China is implementing a systematic “anti-decoupling” strategy to reshape global trade and insulate its $19 trillion economy from United States political and economic pressure. Rather than merely seeking new markets, Beijing aims to build a dense network of economic interdependencies that would make any future attempt at decoupling from China prohibitively expensive for other nations.

To achieve this, China is accelerating negotiations for approximately 20 trade agreements, seeking to link its massive manufacturing base more closely with major economic zones spanning from Europe and the Gulf to the Pacific region.

Research involving over 100 Chinese-language articles from state-supported researchers and more than 2,000 strategic trade studies—including work from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Peking University—indicates this is a long-term, planned response to American influence. Chinese advisors have spent years studying how the U.S. has utilized its economic and institutional power to develop methods for Beijing to better withstand future containment policies.