Chinese President Xi Jinping promoted global business in his speech on Tuesday, and earnestly appealed to global elites to reject the idea of a trade war.
Xi urged world leaders to discard their notions of protectionism in favour of an open mindset. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the Chinese President indicated that he was aware of the perils that a trade war would bring onto China.
The Chinese economy have already seen a slow-down in growth. The second biggest economy in the world has a giant debt bubble. The instability of the Chinese economy may have contributed to the unlikely speech by communist President Xi, where he advocated global capitalist structures.
Trump has taunted the Chinese government, condemning the nation for ‘stealing’ US jobs. However, if a trade war does kick off, the US will suffer as a result. Often the supply chain of many US businesses relies on parts from emerging economies, such as China. The main feature of globalization is that countries across the globe are interlinked. The inter-connection of countries means that actions taking place in one part of the world will impact other communities elsewhere.
President Xi reminded the world of the synergy the global economy relies on, stating that “Waging a trade war will only cause injury and loss to both sides.” and acknowledging that “China will keep its door wide open, and not close it,”