Chinese and Western firms are teaming up even as governments fight

In an era defined by escalating geopolitical tensions and the weaponisation of supply chains, a counterintuitive phenomenon is taking root in the industrial heartlands of China, the United States and Europe. While governments in Beijing, Washington and Brussels engage in high-stakes chess matches of tariffs, export controls, sanctions and investment screening mechanisms, a parallel universe of corporate deal-making is flourishing. The prevailing logic among multinational executives is that...