Decoupling will pose great disadvantages to both the U.S. and China, former U.S. State Secretary Henry Kissinger said at the 5th Bund Summit taking place in Shanghai on Saturday, adding that decoupling will lower the standards of living for both countries.

A China-U.S. decoupling will also make it harder for both countries to work together on common challenges, he said at the opening ceremony of the event, which he attended online. 

Despite the rise in tensions in the technology industry between the U.S. and China, Kissinger is calling for both sides to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI). He said he believes China-U.S. AI cooperation is essential for mankind.