UN chief says cooperation, dialogue needed on trade
International cooperation and dialogue are the way to solve trade disputes, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.
“Trade wars are always bad for those involved in the trade war and for the international economy as a whole. We need to have international cooperation,” Guterres said in an interview with Chinese media at United Nations headquarters in New York before his visit to China.
“Wherever there’s a problem, there must be dialogue, there must be a serious discussion to overcome the problem,” he said.
Guterres said efforts are needed “to preserve what was acquired by many years of work of world organizations” to make sure there is trade benefit to the global economy as a whole.
Guterres said he is delighted to be visiting China and participating in the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. Gutteres will meet with Xi and other Chinese officials and then give a speech at the opening session of the annual forum, which will be held from April 8 to 11 in Hainan province.
“It will be an enormous pleasure for me to participate in this event and to recognize the extremely important contribution of China to multilateralism in today’s world, where multilateralism is sometimes under attack,” said Guterres, whose first visit to China was in the 1980s.
He described the occasion as a very important moment in the history of China, with 40 years of reform and opening-up leading to an “unparalleled” process of economic growth and a reduction of poverty that have contributed to the improvement of the global economy.
The UN chief expressed his belief in China’s commitment to globalization, free trade and international cooperation, especially in the developing world. “The Belt and Road Initiative is a perfect demonstration of that,” he said.
Describing himself as a strong believer in multilateralism, Guterres said global problems cannot be addressed on a country-by-country basis.
“Global problems need to have global answers, and global answers can only be implemented through multilateral frameworks,” he said. “And so the international framework that governs global trade is of course of extreme importance.”
As a true believer in free trade as a key contributor to global prosperity, Guterres said globalization has brought enormous benefits, but it also has losers and victims. For example, income inequality has increased, and many people have been left behind.
“The answer to this problem is not protectionism, is not isolationism, but the answer is international cooperation, and the Agenda 2030 can be a very important instrument for that,” he said.
The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a blueprint for eradicating poverty worldwide by the year 2030.
Guterres said “it’s extremely important for us to be able to have a fair globalization for the Agenda 2030 to be implemented, leaving no one behind for global injustices to be corrected, and for the possibility of establishing a community of a shared prosperity in the world, as President Xi Jinping usually mentions”.
He said China has been an active builder of multilateralism and is involved in all forms of global governance.
“We welcome that fact as a positive contribution for the world,” he said.