TOKYO -- As the war of words intensifies between Beijing and the West over efforts by the U.S. and allies to reduce their economic reliance on China, one version of "decoupling" is already on the way -- in the world of central banks.
While Chinese leader Xi Jinping rails against protectionism and U.S. President Joe Biden talks up "de-risking," a divide in monetary policy is opening up. Facing stubbornly high inflation, Western central banks continue to raise interest rates, just as peers in Asia -- notably Japan and China -- keep rates loose and other nations in the region look to start cutting.
