A former top South Korean diplomat has urged China and the United States to push ahead with negotiations to inject stability into their relationship, warning that economic nationalism would bring harm to the world. Kang Kyung-wha, who served as South Korea’s foreign minister from 2017 to 2021, told a forum in Beijing on Thursday that the China-US trade deal reached earlier this month after a series of tit-for-tat tariff increases was welcomed by countries around the world. “But for this to be more than a temporary reprieve, the two sides must continue to negotiate and act to provide stability and predictability in the bilateral relationship,” she said. On May 12, Beijing and Washington announced they had agreed to remove the bulk of tariffs for a 90-day period following trade negotiations in Geneva, but trade frictions have remained high. In what was a rather gloomy assessment, Kang, who is now president of the Asia Society, said the world was grappling with turbulence and uncertainty, and that “long-accepted assumptions and beliefs about the global order are under assault”. “Globalisation and multilateralism seemed like an inevitable historical force, lifting all boats in its path. Markets opened, people moved, ideas flowed … But today, the currents that once drove globalisation seem to have been overtaken by the forces of fragmentation,” she said. “Security concerns and trade tensions have dampened the aspirations towards an interdependent world where all would enjoy peace and prosperity.”
Kang Kyung-wha, the former South Korean foreign minister, has been strongly urging both China and the United States to keep up with their negotiations in order to bring some stability into their relationship. She’s got a point – economic nationalism could really mess things up for everyone else. The China-US trade deal that they finally agreed on earlier this month was a relief for many countries, but Kang thinks it won’t last unless they keep talking and working things out. The two countries said they’d cut back on tariffs for 90 days after their talks in Geneva, but there’s still a lot of tension between them. It’s a pretty bleak situation, according to Kang, who’s now the president of the Asia Society. She thinks the world is going through a rough patch with all the uncertainty and chaos, and the old ways of doing things are being challenged. The idea of globalisation and working together as a team used to be a sure thing, but now it seems like everything’s falling apart, with security worries and trade disputes getting in the way of peace and prosperity for everyone.
Kang Kyung-wha, the former South Korean foreign minister, has some strong words for China and the United States – they better keep talking and working things out if they want to avoid causing more trouble for the rest of the world. The recent trade deal they reached was a step in the right direction, but Kang doesn’t think it’ll stick unless they stay committed to finding common ground. They agreed to ease off on tariffs for a while after their talks in Geneva, but there’s still a lot of tension between them. Kang, who’s now leading the Asia Society, thinks the world is dealing with a lot of uncertainty and chaos, and the old ways of doing things are being challenged. Globalisation used to be a force of nature that lifted everyone up, but now it seems like things are falling apart, with security concerns and trade disputes getting in the way of a peaceful and prosperous world. Kang’s not really sure why this matters, but she’s got a feeling that things could get worse if China and the US don’t figure things out soon. So, let’s hope they can put aside their differences and work together for the greater good.
