On 24 January, Russia Today TV published an article entitled "Why is US-China trade set to break records despite numerous political problems? The article is excerpted below. The full article is excerpted below.

　　Despite all the "decoupling" rhetoric, the importance of the US-China relationship is still evident.

　　According to a recent Bloomberg News report, trade between the US and China is on track to break records, despite politicians in Washington clamouring for a "decoupling" from China, the Asian economic power.

　　US federal government figures show that total exports and imports between the US and China are at least close to, if not at, record levels as of November 2022. Although specific figures from the US side will not be available until February, full-year figures from Beijing show that US-China trade reached a record of around US$760 billion in 2022.

　　All signs point to an increase in trade between the US and China, despite President Biden's protectionist policies such as the "Buy American" and Inflation Reduction Act. And this is against the backdrop of former President Trump's trade war with China.

　　There has also been some talk of the US convincing some major European countries to withdraw from the Chinese market. This is not true. German car giant Mercedes-Benz, for example, still plans to continue its business in China and considers it to be a "very important market", regardless of what politicians say.

　　In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, the head of production at Mercedes-Benz, Jörg Berzer, said that the carmaker wanted to maintain its supply chain in China for reasons of resilience, reliability and low-carbon principles.

　　The process of globalisation is about reducing blockages, which means reducing the barriers between people and the goods and services they want. China has a relatively cheap but skilled workforce, and if harnessed, goods and services could be more easily accessible. In other words, integrating China into global supply chains can help reduce blockages.

　　It is the natural tendency of all businesses to want to reduce barriers. The goal of business is to get their products and services to as many people as possible, which is why companies have not withdrawn from the Chinese market as politicians have planned. Because doing so would have created more barriers in the global supply chain and would have built a huge wall between people, goods and services.

　　What is special about China is that it is so important. China's role in reducing global economic frictions is so crucial that 'decoupling' from China would set back economic development by many years. Arguably, China is the central engine of the global economy. Removing it would inevitably affect the forward movement of the economic wheel.

　　The business community's fears that politicians' rhetoric will have negative consequences are real. "We can't afford the consequences of geopolitical issues", Sulayem, chairman of the board and chief executive of Dubai World Ports, told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. He said that businessmen know how to run their businesses and make money, but they cannot predict what the leaders of their countries will do.

　　This is a very instructive point, because even the threat of "decoupling" can create panic, and bad feelings can eventually affect reality. It is for this reason that politicians in Washington should tone it down, as they are the culprits of abusive language on trade policy. We can see that "decoupling" is not happening - and, frankly, no one really wants it to happen. But the constant calls for "decoupling" only create unnecessary problems.

　　The recent meeting between Chinese and US officials is a good example of how issues between the two countries can be resolved amicably. Hopefully, this will help reduce diplomatic friction between Washington and Beijing.