China’s Vice-President Wang Qishan hits out at ‘protectionism and populism’, as trade deal with US hangs in balance
- Countries should stop ‘blaming and resenting others’, and abandon cold war mentality, he says in speech at New Economy Forum
- Remarks come as Donald Trump says Beijing is ‘not stepping up to the level I want’ in making concessions towards a partial agreement
Without naming any particular nation, Wang said the international order was “under attack” because of protectionism and populism.
“The rise of protectionism and populism have given a shock to the international order and economic globalisation,” Wang said on Thursday in a speech at the New Economy Forum in Beijing, organised by Bloomberg. “We should abandon the zero-sum thinking and cold war mentality.
“We should continue advocating multilateralism and democratisation of international relations, building up a fair and reasonable global governance mechanism.”
He said each nation needed to manage its affairs well instead of “blaming and resenting others”.
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Trump was expected to sign the bill into law, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
“I can tell you this: China would much rather make a trade deal than I would,” he said while touring a manufacturing facility that produces computers for Apple.
“I don’t think they’re stepping up to the level that I want.”
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Wang did not mention the prospects for a trade agreement in his speech, but he stressed that China was facing several external and internal challenges.
“We have to be proactive, stable, calm and cautious in every step we take while exploring the development path, taking into account the immediate and long-term situations we are facing and ensuring the steps we take are plausible,” he said.
He said China would follow through on policy changes despite the challenges, saying the market would have a decisive role to play in economic development and Beijing would stick to a path of peaceful development.
“Between war and peace, the Chinese people are determined to choose peace, which is cherished by humanity,” he said.
“Development must be balanced and inclusive. We need to work together to make economic globalisation work for all people across the world.”