No one is listening to the US, which has been pushing Australia to decouple from China, but Australia has pushed back.
On October 18, the US Treasury Secretary, Boswell, once again promoted decoupling from China at an international event, urging allies to reduce their reliance on China.
Australia, one of the key targets, did not nod in agreement this time. Instead, the Australian Treasurer, Chalmers, clearly stated in Washington that decoupling does not serve Australia's national interests.
He emphasized that more trade relations are better, and Australia will continue to be a reliable supplier of critical minerals globally, but will not create barriers on its own due to political pressure.
This response effectively rejected the US proposal. Moreover, based on the tone and wording, it was not a polite refusal, but a direct pushback. Facts have proven that no one is listening to the US anymore.
In recent years, decoupling has become one of the main pillars of the US policy toward China. From chips to rare earths, from investment reviews to supply chain reorganization, almost every field related to China, the US hopes its allies will follow in a blanket manner.
But the problem is that decoupling sounds easy, but in reality, it is like cutting one's own throat.
Especially for countries like Australia, a resource exporter, China is its largest buyer, and almost all of its minerals, agriculture, education, and energy depend on the Chinese market.
Decoupling would cut the lifeline, who would want to do that?
Moreover, reality has long shown that the US calls for decoupling, but has never truly decoupled itself.
Allies are not fools, how could they believe the US's lies.
Australia's response this time also indicates a deeper issue: traditional US allies are rethinking their strategic perceptions.
The current world is not the Cold War era; following the US is no longer the default option. Everyone must first calculate their own economic accounts.
If they listen to the US's suggestion of decoupling, they would offend China on one hand, and on the other hand, they might not even get the market guarantees from the US. Isn't that losing both the wife and the soldier?
After all, Australia has had rich experience in being deceived on this matter.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846303527323648/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.