Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

US financial sanctions against China ‘suicidal’ for Washington, scholar says

US financial sanctions against China ‘suicidal’ for Washington, scholar says

The Trump administration must issue a report to the US Congress on Monday in a follow up to July’s Hong Kong Autonomy Act, but former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan believes the economic and financial links between China and the US are too valuable.


Former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan is now a deputy head of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based think tank.

The United States is unlikely to launch a financial war against China as it would hurt itself more, outspoken former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan said.

“Don’t worry, everybody. If the US really decouples from us in the financial realm, it will hurt us by 1,000 but hurt themselves by 2,000, which equals a suicidal attempt and the US will die even before we do,” Huang said in comments published at the weekend.

His comments came as the Trump administration is facing a deadline on Monday to identify individuals who facilitated the “erosion” of Hong Kong’s autonomy, with a report due to be issued to the US Congress 90 days after the Hong Kong Autonomy Act was passed in July.

There are also concerns that the US may resort to broad financial sanctions against China by cutting its access to US dollars, which remains the dominant currency in international trade and payments.

The US has, according to Huang, succeeded in bullying economies like Russia,Southeast Asia and South Korea by wielding its financial power stemming from the anchor currency role of the US dollar, but he believes that this tactic “will not work for China”.

China has three “magic weapons” to shield itself from any potential financial sanctions by the US, namely that capital flows into and out of China are highly restricted, that foreign ownership of assets in China’s financial system remains small, as well as Beijing’s extensive oversight of financial operations, Huang explained.

“If the three areas are fully open, they will be controlled by the US, which will make it easy for the US to subvert us. These three areas of China are not open, or there is limited access under the jurisdiction of our system, and that makes it hard for the US to subvert us,” added Huang, who is now a deputy head of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based think tank.

China’s economic and financial links with the US are, therefore, too valuable for the US business community and investment banks for Washington to cut despite attempts by politicians to decouple the world’s two largest economies.

“The king for Wall Street is the market. Wall Street listens to the capital and financial market, not [US President Donald] Trump. Trump has no rights or authority to order Wall Street or the US business community to go against China. He just creates noises,” Huang told a conference organised by the Chinese Association of Small and Medium Enterprises on Friday.

Guan Tao, a former official with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, previously said that it was an “extremely small probability event” that the US would kick China out of the SWIFT international payments messaging system.

“The United States cannot ultimately decide whether a country can use SWIFT or not unless there is consensus by other members for a joint sanction, and that will depend on the extent of the country’s economic and trade links with the world. The US attempt to block Russia from SWIFT has been unsuccessful,” Guan, who is now the chief economist for the brokerage arm of the Bank of China, said in a recent interview with Chinese media.

He added that it was unlikely that the US would cut all Chinese institutions from the US dollar payment system, namely the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS), with the probability for the US to block China from SWIFT even smaller.

But Guan added that it was still possible that the US would pick a few individual Chinese institutions to punish by limiting their access to CHIPS or SWIFT.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×