Decoupling viewed as risky bet for US 　　Economic wager driven by anti-China policies leaves no winners, experts sayThe US government's policies toward China are putting the country on the wrong track, according to China watchers who stress that a decoupling of the top two economies will harm the United States and the rest of the world.The administration of US President Joe Biden has essentially maintained the hawkish stance toward China of his predecessor, Donald Trump, in an effort to deflect criticism by blaming China for the country's economic difficulties, said George Koo, a retired international business adviser in Silicon Valley, and Cyrus Janssen, a US video blogger focusing on China, in an episode on the latter's YouTube channel."They are looking to blame somebody for all the problems that we have, that we're not fixing, and China is the most obvious target to blame, because of the economic growth that is happening in China," said Koo."One single thing that the Democratic and Republican parties can agree on is to bash China and blackmail China's image. That's a very sad thing."Koo said the US government's approach toward China is "self-destructing"."We are insisting on pushing China's head underwater, so we can still be on top," he said. "That's a losing proposition, because sooner or later, they're gonna get out from under and be on top anyway."In the meantime, we've lost all the time and opportunity to create a more competitive position for ourselves."Instead of investing in domestic development, the US government is investing in weapons and increasing the military budget in the name of "promoting democracy all around the world", said Koo.The business figure's comments struck a chord with Janssen, who lived in China for a decade."Our infrastructure just pales in comparison to what is going on in China, and how their infrastructure is developed," he said."And there's this amazing thing where you do see China's government trying to pass policies that are in the best interest of its citizens. You've seen that in its economic rise over the last 50 years," he added.Emotional' responseBy contrast, much of the US' foreign policy is "emotional-based" and "very reactionary", Janssen said. He pointed to the US' moves toward economic decoupling from China, in an effort to combat the rise of an economic competitor.Janssen, who also advises international companies, said many people are concerned about the trend toward decoupling and have asked him if all US factories will pull out of China."It's almost impossible, though certainly some industries have moved out," he said. "For example, textiles have moved to Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. But we've had so many American companies that have invested tens and hundreds of millions of dollars building these factories."General Motors went to India to try to open up a vehicle plant only to find it didn't work out from the infrastructure and the logistical standpoint, said Janssen."China was just so much better. And it was so much easier to be doing business in China. So they eventually closed that plant in India and moved back to China," he said.Koo said that what the US government is asking the companies to do is like "cutting their noses off to spite the American face".Citing the last quarterly report of Lam Research, a major equipment company based in Silicon Valley, Koo said 31 percent of its business is in China and 8 percent in the US."Ostensibly, we're asking this company to stop selling to China. If you cut yourself off from the 31 percent of the business, you're really asking the company to shut down," he said.Koo said it's important for people in the US to understand that working with China is potentially an all-around win-win situation that benefits everybody, given the integration of the economies and the complementary nature of each country's skills and strengths."But to turn it into a decoupled situation is a lose-lose situation," he said. "I don't think China will benefit from a decoupled situation. But I can certainly say that the US is also going to lose on a decoupled situation."

Typhoon Ma-on lands in Guangdong Storm disrupts traffic, leaves southern areas waterlogged as warnings issuedTyphoon Ma-on, the ninth typhoon of the year, made landfall in the coastal area of Dianbai county of Guangdong province on Thursday morning, bringing heavy rainfall, especially in the west of the province.Ma-on made landfall with gales of around 119 kilometers per hour. After its landfall, the typhoon moved northwest at a speed of about 25 km/h, passing through the city of Maoming in Guangdong. The typhoon entered the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday afternoon, with winds decreasing.Affected by the typhoon, southern Guangxi and western Yunnan province are expected to have high risks of geological disasters, the Ministry of Natural Resources said.Before landfall, the ministry activated a Level IV emergency response, the least severe in a four-tier system, for possible geological disasters triggered by the typhoon.Cities across Guangdong, especially those along the eastern and western coastal areas and the Pearl River Delta region, all issued emergency alerts for flooding.Several sections of expressways in Maoming and nearby Yangjiang and Zhanjiang cities in Guangdong were closed, according to the local traffic police authorities.Flood control and drought relief authorities in Guangdong have dispatched three working groups to Maoming and Zhanjiang cities to guide the flood-control work, with various materials including reinforcement frames and sandbags already being placed in advance in the western areas of Guangdong.A total of 162 reservoirs exceeding their designated water levels during the flooding season had been verified in the province, according to the Water Resources Department of Guangdong.The China Meteorological Administration said typhoon Ma-on arrived at Bobai county of Guangxi at 3 pm on Thursday after it decreased to a severe tropical storm.Railway services linking Guangzhou to northern and southwestern China, as well as Shenzhen to eastern parts of the country, resumed on Thursday morning, as the typhoon waned in the Pearl River Delta region, according to Guangzhou Railway Group.Entry and exit services at Hengqin Port in the city of Zhuhai, which neighbors Macao, also resumed after the typhoon passed.Traffic on the connecting line to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the temporary construction bridge of the artificial island at the Zhuhai port also resumed on Thursday afternoon, according to the local traffic police authority.Urban Haikou saw more than 150 millimeters of rain on Thursday due to the typhoon, which left part of the Hainan provincial capital waterlogged.Ten flights at Haikou airport and two more at Sanya airport in Hainan province were canceled on Thursday.Earlier, ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait and operations at three ports in Haikou were suspended from 8 pm on Wednesday.