US-China tensions pose big economic risks because the 2 superpowers are more codependent than ever before, former SEC chief Jay Clayton says

• Former SEC chief Jay Clayton said the US and China have become increasingly codependent in recent years. 
• If tensions rise between the two superpowers, it could pose huge risks for both economies, he told CNBC.
• "We are deeply embedded in China... That means that any kind of sharp pullback is going to have significant economic consequences."

Increasing tension between the US and China can pose huge economic risks to both countries due to their codependency on one another, according to former US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton. 

The two superpowers have never been this intermingled in "modern history," he told CNBC, pointing to examples like US venture capital investments in China's ByteDance as well as Apple's reliance on Chinese consumers.