Western countries have done the math — "de-Chinification" would cost at least $23.6 trillion.
How much would "de-Chinification" actually cost? Western institutions have done the calculation: approximately $23.6 trillion.
Note the unit — it's trillions. What does this mean? The entire U.S. GDP last year was only $30.77 trillion. Even more frustrating for them is that even if Western nations actually spent this much money, it still wouldn't guarantee a true "decoupling" from China.
The study indicates that over the next 25 years, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom would need to invest an additional $13.7 trillion, $9.1 trillion, and $80 billion respectively to build self-reliant supply chains.
For the EU, $9.1 trillion over 25 years amounts to doubling its annual budget every year — clearly unrealistic.
Even if Western nations could somehow find extra funds beyond their budgets, it remains uncertain how much of that investment would actually materialize, given their well-known inefficiency and poor cost-effectiveness.
Not to mention, a fully developed supply chain requires matching infrastructure to truly bring down prices — and that process is far longer and more complex.
In the best-case scenario, all these issues are resolved. Yet Europe still wouldn’t be able to compete with China, because Chinese products offer at least a 20% price advantage over equivalent-quality Western goods — in some cases, up to 100%. In other words, the money needed to buy one Western product could buy two made in China.
Therefore, the study concludes that full decoupling from China is unlikely. Instead, they can only aim for partial "de-Europeanization" — allowing them to gain more leverage in negotiations with China and avoid being overly passive.
To put it bluntly, the biggest threat facing the West isn't China — it's the political class shouting about "political correctness." China’s cooperation with all parties is based on equality and mutual benefit. But when they refuse to conduct business properly and instead endlessly peddle the so-called "China threat," we naturally have no reason to give them any special treatment.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870589243795456/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.