Free trade concern

IT IS no coincidence that both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau devoted their opening speeches at this year’s World Economic Forum to the safeguarding of free trade, and that the theme for the gathering is “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”.

While plenty of common concerns have been brought to the fore at the annual get-together in Davos – from sexual harassment to terrorism to economic inequality – Modi, Trudeau and the Davos organisers revealed the simple truth that much of the rest of the world is keenly feeling the same worries President Xi Jinping expressed at last year’s event when he delivered a resounding pro-globalisation speech.

There are no doubt divergences between Chinese and Indian perspectives and approaches to development and everything else, but on these points Modi and Xi are in agreement.

Again, this is in no way coincidental. China and India, with their exemplary rapid growth over the years, have been among the biggest beneficiaries of economic globalisation. From their own rags-toriches experiences in the global market prior to the recent rise of protectionist, isolationist tendencies, they are in the best positions to tell the rest of the world about the advantages of economic globalisation and interconnectedness.

But they are not the only ones, nor is it just emerging economies which have benefited from open trade and globalisation.

The current United States administration’s signature “America First” slogan worries its northern neighbour and others, including its allies in Europe and Asia, because they, too are keenly aware of the hazardous potential of the White House’s anti-globalisation back-pedalling. The world expects a lot more from the global leadership the Donald Trump administration aspires to retain.