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Editor's note : The decoupling theory pumped by some hawkish U.S. politicians has triggered the worries of whether the world's two largest economies will lop off their connections. During this year's China International Import Expo, CGTN's Zou Yue visited Tesla's Shanghai Giga Factory and Yangshan Phase IV, the world's largest port run by robots, to witness the American business booming and trans-Pacific trade soaring, and to film a short series entitled "In Shanghai: China Meets the U.S." This second episode discusses the connection, and its vibrancy.
President Donald Trump once said he hopes China will come down hard on U.S. companies, so they can come home, but will they?
It's a rainy day in Shanghai. Tesla's Giga Factory is busy as usual. Zou Yue went there to have a look.
The old story of the factory is that it was built within a year, a record for Tesla and China. But the new story is that it's the only Tesla factory still running after COVID-19 struck the world. Tesla is special because of Elon Musk, but Tesla is special in China because it is the only American carmaker entirely owned by Americans.
The multibillion-dollar factory is crucial for Tesla's global ambition since Tesla's CEO Elon Musk once said that they want to make this factory extremely environmentally sustainable and for this to be a showpiece for the world.
The reason is obvious: China is already the largest market for electric cars. Success there would strengthen the company back home and lead to more export jobs. No other country is attempting to modernize as quickly as China and that is why Tesla is moving fast and rolling out cars even faster.
Another reason is because Chinese domestic market is expanding, growing very fast.
Wang Shouwen, China's vice minister of commerce and China's Deputy International Trade Representative emphasis that the foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) focusing on Chinese domestic market will expand further their supply chains in China.
Tesla Shanghai Giga Factory is an example of how an American brand connects with Chinese speed. A new technology connects with a huge market. And most importantly, how we connect now with future.
Just 12 kilometers to the east of Tesla's factory, you could see that future – Phase IV of Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, the world's largest port run by robots. And there is nowhere else better than this place to tell the story about the trade between China and the United States.
Despite the impact from COVID-19 and Trump tariffs, shipping trade across the Pacific grew by 20 percent in August. And for once, they even ran out of containers to carry the cargo to trade.
Over a hundred countries trade more with China than with America. And the trend will continue. A 2019 McKinsey report highlights how the world's exposure to China is increasing every day, because it is a market, supplier and provider of capital in one. American efforts to decouple itself from China could happen, but it also spells an America decoupling itself from the world.
Wang, the Chinese vice-minister, believes that China remains a very competitive supply chain location. Because there are few other countries in the world that can match China where you can find almost everything you need to build something. China has a broad spectrum of strong off-stream suppliers and downstream clients, making supply chains in China reliable and less vulnerable to disruptions.
China once boasted a great self-sufficient Middle Kingdom and claimed it had everything it needed and didn't need the rest of the world.
But China learned its lessons at huge costs, will America?
Scriptwriter: Zou Yue
Editing design: Feng Ran, Shen Shiwei
Video editor: Feng Ran, Shen Shiwei
Senior producer: Ge Jing
Managing director: Mei Yan
Supervisor: Fan Yun
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