World Bank president: Xi and Trump can find a way forward

World
Europe

US President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on November 1. And the move is been seen as a positive momentum for bilateral trade ties between the world's largest and second largest economies.

Earlier in June, when Trump met Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, he said that he would immediately talk to Xi. However, due to China-US trade tensions, such a talk failed to happen in nearly five months.

During the call on Thursday, Xi said that in the past few months, China and the US have had some disagreements in the economic and trade field, which have had an adverse impact on American and Chinese industries as well as global trade, which is against China's wishes.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, while speaking with CGTN, said that boosting trade is the only solution to fix world problems, adding that he is confident that Xi and Trump can find a path forward – if they were left together in one room.

02:21

“From my perspective...there is no way to create more opportunities without more trade. If you care about everyone having an opportunity, if you care about ending extreme poverty, we need more trade not less,” said Kim.

Kim, who grew up in the US, said that a lot of his classmates "were not able to take advantage of all the opportunities that open trade afforded to so many people including China."

"I think the high-income countries have to face that there were so many people who did not benefit and they need to think about things like jobs training and preparing the people for the economy of the future."

In recent years, China has made a tremendous contribution to promoting international free trade.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been putting relentless efforts in helping countries across the world, develop managerial capacity and take advantage of Chinese investments.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim speaks at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting in Nusa Dua, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on October 12, 2018./ VCG Photo

The China International Import Expo (CIIE), an endeavor to boost international trade, will be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

"The expo is starting from Monday, I am going to participate in the event and President Xi is also expected to be there, " said Kim.

The CIIE has sent a clear signal to the world that China wants more imports via trading with other countries.

China is a firm supporter of international free trade, which brings benefits to all parties concerned.

"China is one of the most important markets already for so many countries," he added.

Xi and Trump are scheduled to attend the G20 summit to be held from November 30 to December 1 in Buenos Aires.

When asked what will he tell both the leaders if he was in the negotiating room, Kim said: "I would tell them that based on your personal relationship, based on the fact that what happens in this room is so important not just to your two countries but also to the rest of the world, I have great faith that you will be able to find a path forward for the world. And then I will walk out of the room."

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)