Dealing with Decoupling from China: Business Strategies in a Changing World
This report, written by Professor Frank Pieke and Bert Hofman, discusses the findings of a research project of the LeidenAsiaCentre in the Netherlands and the East Asian Institute in Singapore on the extent and impact of economic decoupling from China. It focuses on how companies can maintain a productive and advantageous relationship with China without excessive dependence on and vulnerability to domestic changes in China. How can companies from different countries learn from each other in dealing with these risks? The project includes interviews with 60 companies from the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, and Germany. This research highlights the growing constraints while doing business in China due to political considerations and strategic risks. In particular, the increasing tensions between China and the United States have significant implications for foreign companies trading with or investing in China. Many Dutch companies are therefore critical of the Netherlands’ support for the United States and advocate for a more balanced approach in dealing with both the US and China.
The research for and production of this report has been conducted within the framework agreement for the China Knowledge Network (CKN). The aim of CKN is to promote strategic knowledge development about China for the national government of the Netherlands. Responsibility for the contents and for the opinions expressed, rests solely with the authors and does not constitute, nor should be construed as, an endorsement by the secretariat of the China Knowledge Network and/or the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
