Finance & economics | Fresh factories

Who wins from the unravelling of Sino-American trade?

A series of shocks are transforming international commerce

This photo taken on August 26, 2022 shows vehicles being constructed on an automated production line at the VinFast electric automobile plant in Haiphong. - Having conquered most industries at home, optimistic chiefs at conglomerate Vingroup are setting their sights much higher as they ramp up plans to sell the first ever Vietnamese car in the mighty US market. - To go with 'VIETNAM-US-AUTOMOBILE-INDUSTRY,FOCUS' by Alice PHILIPSON (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP) / To go with 'VIETNAM-US-AUTOMOBILE-INDUSTRY,FOCUS' by Alice PHILIPSON (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN/AFP via Getty Images)

From disease and downturn to the deterioration in Chinese-American relations, there has been no let-up to the blows battering the world’s trading system. The latest threat stems from the possibility of another global recession. Only two years after the world sank into a covid-induced slump, shipping bosses are again warning of grim prospects for international trade.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Fresh factories”

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