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.
“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.
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.”
