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The Chinese economy was dealt a fresh blow last week as the US slapped new sanctions on individuals and entities in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. The sanctions, which aim to stop “illicit” Iranian oil reaching China, are merely the latest in a raft of financial penalties Washington has used against Beijing. The nation of 1.4 billion people was also sanctioned by the US last month over its alleged support for the Russian military during the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a string of Western nations, including the UK, sanctioned China last year over human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslims in its north-west region of Xinjiang.
During the Ukraine war, sanctions have been one of the main tools at western leaders’ disposal in the geopolitical fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country.
Although sanctions have crippled the Russian economy, some analysts have questioned their efficacy against China.
A US military expert has suggested an alternative way for western leaders to decimate the Chinese economy.
The communist superpower, which relies heavily on exports, could have its key trading routes cut off by the West, according to Dr John Callahan.
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Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “We would instantly blockade Shanghai and the Chinese economy would grind to a halt almost immediately.
“Because we’re sort of in a death embrace with China. For China, all you have to do is block the Straits of Malacca, the Philippine Sea, and the access to Shanghai, and you completely end the Chinese economy, because it’s all export.
“Of course, the ripple effect of that we are already seeing with the supply chain crisis.
“The western economies get kicked in the proverbials, because they are not getting their stuff from China anymore. Now, it is a question of who could survive that.”
However, as he also pointed out, the knock-on effects could be devastating globally, given that China’s economy is the second largest in the world after the US.
Donald Trump started a trade war with China in 2018, the year after he took office.
The Former US President accused Beijing of unfair trading behaviour and intellectual property theft.
His predecessor Joe Biden has maintained some of the hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs he imposed on Chinese goods.
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Mr Biden claimed during a speech in May that no decision had been made but said “we’re discussing that right now”.
Dr Callahan explained that if the West were to pursue even tougher economic measures with China, such as cutting off its trade routes, the results would not be pretty.
He said: “At the last part of the Trump administration, the US successfully prosecuted a trade war with China.
“The West can weather a crisis with China, but it would be very much living on austerity, while industries will be rebuilt.
“Rethinking pay schemes for people to do jobs that they are not used to doing – all that kind of stuff.”
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