A group of ambassadors in Beijing has called for an overhaul of the world’s multilateralism systems to tackle the political and economic chaos unleashed by US President Donald Trump.
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“The world doesn’t need another trade war. The world doesn’t need more geopolitical conflicts,” Jorge Toledo, the EU’s ambassador to China, said in Beijing on Friday.
“We have a special responsibility in the European Union and in China to stabilise, rebalance and improve our relationships, and not to add more problems to the already very troubled waters that we are witnessing,” Toledo said at a conference hosted by the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank.
The call comes as economies – large and small – grapple with Trump’s aggressive trade policy, particularly his “Liberation Day” tariffs against trading partners on April 2.
But debates over the effectiveness of existing multilateral platforms go back further, with the failure of institutions such as the United Nations to address a range of crises, from the devastating impacts of climate change to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.
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Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
Trump says he can see himself dealing directly with Xi on US-China trade deal details
Smaller or developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have also complained about the lack of representation on international platforms.