China-US 'decoupling' talk described as 'dangerous'

Unrealistic talk of the United States and China "decoupling" poses a real danger to bilateral relations, according to former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.

There's too much loose talk about decoupling around the US, which is a "very dangerous and imprecise addition" to language about the US-China relationship, said Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, at a talk hosted by the Asia Society Northern California on Thursday in Palo Alto, California.

He said the word first appeared in the context of the US-China relationship in May 2018. Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, took it up as a way to describe "what should happen between China and the US" in August.