Talk of US-China decoupling is getting loud – but neither side is ready for a clean break

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. In this article, Sylvia Ma examines the numerous financial links between the two economies that make a true decoupling a difficult affair.On a landmark visit to Beijing in 1986, the New York Stock Exchange chairman at the time, John Phelan, received a historic gift from Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China’s reform and opening-up: a share certificate for Shanghai Feilo Acoustics – one of the earliest public stocks issued in the reform era.But the Wall Street veteran noticed an issue. The share certificate, with a face value of 50 yuan when it was presented in a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, was not registered in his name, but that of a Chinese bank official.