Multilateral cooperation can inject new vitality into globalization

In the face of the current increasingly fragmented global economy and the increasingly fierce strategic competition between the two major economies of China and the United States, globalization has become a topic of great concern to the industry. At the high-level seminar on multilateralism and globalization in the era of strategic competition, as well as their impact on Asia, held on May 5th, participants focused on analyzing various structural challenges and core issues that currently affect the global economy.
Han Seung-soo, co chairman of the International Financial Forum (IFF), chairman of the Council of the President of the United Nations General Assembly and former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, said that in the past 30 years, the US led global economy has undergone structural changes. China became the world's second largest economy in 2010 and is expected to achieve more in economic development in the future. This structural change is having a profound impact on the global economy.
Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank and former President of Brazil, believes that at the moment when the trend of economic multipolarization is more in-depth, international trade, global supply chain and industrial chain become more sophisticated and complex, the overall participation of emerging economies is increasingly high, and various trade among emerging economies is increasingly frequent and important. Therefore, strengthening the diversity system of trade settlement in local currencies among emerging economies has become an increasingly strong practical demand. The system that relies heavily on a few currencies such as the US dollar for trading is bound to change.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley stated that in the past 30 years, China has become a successful example of achieving economic development through promoting trade connections and international cooperation. In these years, not only has China benefited from reform and opening up and international cooperation, but many countries around the world have also abandoned protectionism and actively promoted reform, benefiting greatly and forming a trend of openness globally. The "the Belt and Road" initiative proposed by China is an initiative to actively promote international trade and international cooperation, which has benefited many countries in their economic exchanges with China. In the current severe situation, all parties must abandon the ideology of protectionism and strengthen cooperation by practicing multilateralism.
Harold James, professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University, said that the global food crisis, the energy crisis and the restructuring of the supply chain of the industrial chain are constantly causing supply shortages and pushing up inflation. In his view, no single economy can solve the problem of supply shortage solely on its own, and all economies are interdependent. The successful experience of China's reform and opening up shows that only opening up to the outside world and international cooperation are the solutions.
Liang Jinsong, Vice President of IFF and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nanfeng Group, said that the world is facing an increasingly unbalanced allocation of resources. The COVID-19 that has ravaged the world has exacerbated the trend of economic crisis. Many research reports have clearly pointed out that no continent in the world can achieve self-sufficiency in all resources and production factors. To promote stable economic development, it is necessary to support multilateralism through free trade.
Although the global economic recovery still faces many challenges, the rapid economic development of developing countries such as Indonesia has attracted the attention of all parties. China leads the world in some technological fields, and India has become an important provider of global human resources and digital product industries. Participants believe that the rapid economic development of developing countries means that they will play a greater role under the framework of multilateralism such as the United Nations. In the near future, countries such as South Africa and Brazil will also embark on the path of rapid development, just like China and India. From a long-term perspective, multilateralism and globalization are still full of vitality.