US trade flop leaves Asia on its own

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he walks with US President Joe Biden at Filoli estate on the sidelines of the Apec summit on Nov 15 - Reuters

FOR countries in the Indo-Pacific wondering whether it would ever be possible to decouple their economies from China’s, last week was quite dispiriting.

In San Francisco, the US corporate grandees welcomed Xi Jinping with an enthusiastic ovation.