The U.S. will likely continue decoupling from China in areas such as manufacturing and technology development, while other nations including the European Union play a mediating role between the two nations, said Conor Seyle, vice president of operations at nonprofit foundation PAX sapiens and a panelist during the Brookings discussion.
PAX sapiens released a report outlining four potential outcomes of U.S-China relations in the next decade that will help policymakers and business leaders prepare. The potential outcomes are:
- Neither country takes the first step to create conditions for effective cooperation, and contention on national security, economic issues and competition continues.
- Tensions escalate and result in war between the U.S. and China.
- The U.S. and China completely decouple and evolve into non-overlapping ecosystems, meaning both countries operate under different standards, institutions and systems.
- The U.S. continues to decouple from China but encounters overlap in some areas, including through third countries and international standards for technology development and economic ties.
