“A trade war should be rejected because there will be no winner,” President of China, Xi Jinping stated as the 10th BRICS summit of emerging economies unfolded at South Africa’s principal city, Johannesburg on Wednesday, 25th of July. The three-day annual summit took place at a significant conjuncture in the world economic history. Trump’s administration has pushed an array of tariffs in an attempt to rebalance trade relationships and the move was deemed unfair by the U.S. President.
Donald Trump’s plans of imposing USD 200 billion in new tariffs on goods imported from rival economic superpower China and threats to tear up existing trade deals have led to the unification of rivals alike and fueled the cooperation among the BRICS countries as they rooted for unity on trade.
Highlights: unification of trade
The five leaders of emerging world economies added,
“We recognize that the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges.
“We underscore the importance of an open world economy, enabling all countries and peoples to share the benefits of globalization, which should be inclusive and support sustainable development and prosperity of all countries.
“We call on all WTO members to abide by WTO rules and honor their commitments in the multilateral trading system.”
Reject Protectionism
US, President, Mr. Trump long before becoming president, accused China of unfair trade practices and hence is wishful of cutting the trade deficit with the economic superpower.
President’s tweet projected his antagonism towards the established trade relationships and stagnant policies –
“From Bush 1 to present, our Country has lost more than 55,000 factories, 6,000,000 manufacturing jobs and accumulated Trade Deficits of more than 12 Trillion Dollars. Last year we had a Trade Deficit of almost 800 Billion Dollars. Bad Policies & Leadership. Must WIN again!”
In the face of the threats of tariffs by Donald Trump, the Chinese President urged the leaders of emerging economies to fight protectionism and promote multilateral global trade by working in unison. They sent an empowering message of condemning trade protectionism and defending multilateralism by ensuring steps to be taken for strengthening innovation and industrialization. Another key highlight was that the BRICS’ New Development Bank, which will provide financial aid for the infrastructure development in Africa.
Besides intensifying US-China trade conflict, the three day summit centered around the theme “BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution” witnessed the discussion of core areas of cooperation and mutual interest of BRICS- which included, economic concerns, trade and investments, international security and peace and global governance. The summit also included a BRICS- Africa Outreach Session, during this session the leaders from Angola, Gabon, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda engaged in effective dialogues with BRICS heads of state on the theme, “BRICS in Africa: Working towards the realization of the African Aspirations.” This paved way for the thought that Africa is not going to be marginalized and its value will start being recognized.
The summit wrapped as the ‘Johannesburg Declaration‘ which reaffirms principles of democracy, inclusiveness and agrees to fight unilateralism and protectionism was adopted by the BRICS leaders.
The cooperation among the BRICS countries has matured with time and needless to say that the oneness of voice and symmetry in opinions regarding key issues that impact the global economic configurations, both are of historical significance that illustrates the leaders’ commitment to forging a better tomorrow and a world of harmonious growth. Johannesburg portrayed the scenes of courage as the five powerful economies stood united against trade protectionism and insisted upon maintaining the multilateral trade system.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NEWSD and NEWSD does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
