This Is a Divorce, Not A Spat

China is the spouse who has already prepared, packed and moved to sunny Hainan, while the ex is still trying to figure out what happened so that they can somehow fix the marriage.

May 06, 2025

By featured contributor Mario Cavolo

China is the spouse who already prepared, packed up and moved to sunny Hainan, while the ex is still trying to figure out what happened and that they can somehow fix the marriage.

China decided to divorce its crazy, abusive, violent spouse and, just as any good divorce lawyer would tell you, it is not calling nor taking calls. China is not insecure or looking back.

Rather, Beijing has spent recent years preparing for the eventuality of divorce. Ask any spouse how serious it is to make the ultimate choice; it is life-changing.

Add Trump's extreme tariff announcements to past abuse, including endless lies and the disparaging, insulting, disrespect shown China, and all that it implies; no wonder the breakup became necessary.

China now faces the world completely on its own terms, like any brave spouse who must move on. China while prepared is nervous, but knows it made the right choice and, that with time, not only will it benefit from the release, but that many others, including the little countries of the world, will also benefit greatly.

It is always better to not compromise with an abusive partner.

The warning bells sounded a few years ago when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and, violating and disrespecting China for the umpteenth time, called it a country.

Beijing’s 8-point response was swift and broad, cutting both relations and communications with Taiwan.

Since then, China has maintained an iron fisted security over the island province. In particular, China has guarded against any separatist political moves exhorting independence beyond the status quo.

Today, however, the scope is both national and global.

As an Italian-American living in China for 25 years and with a Chinese family of my own, I have been dramatically impacted by the incessant volatility of the US-China relationship. To make sense of it along the way, I've written three books and written countless media articles on China.

In recent weeks, I have thought long and hard on the right way, the most accurate way, to describe current events. That China has decided to divorce the United States fits the circumstances best.

What previously resembled a foreign diplomacy framework, economic relationship or trade negotiations, is now behind us. In this perspective we are now entering an unprecedented reset of global economic and security structures.

However, how can progress be made while Team Trump, like the spouse who received the divorce papers, does not yet realise that “fixing the fight we just had” in order to rebuild the marriage, is no longer the case; because the marriage is now officially annulled.

As such, crazy, abusive and violent US actions no longer matter; the ‘ex’ has already moved-on. In fact, China told the US it had moved-on when it raised tariffs to match those of the US. Moreover, Beijing said it would not raise them further no matter what the US did next. China would not engage the US side until it stopped its crazy and abusive trade policies.