A fresh report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said global investment hasn't yet returned to levels seen before the 2009 financial crisis, and blamed trade protectionism that shut out foreign direct investment (FDI).
Finance Minister of Luxembourg Pierre Gramegna said international trade is the best engine for global growth.
The latest UNDP World Investment Report for 2018 showed that protectionism has a negative and irreversible impact on global investment. Moreover, the shock would be more prolonged than the impact on trade.
Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna speaks on CGTN's Global Business program.
“Before the international financial crisis, what was driving growth was the international trade,” Gramegna noted, adding that international trade has driven the global growth again during 2013 to 2016.
“So, international trade is the best engine for growth. And it’s a kind of win-win situation for everyone,” Gramegna stressed.
According to the report, the US remains the darling of FDI, receiving 275 billion US dollars in 2017. China attracted 136 billion US dollars in foreign direct investment in 2017, ranking second in the world.
The minister noted that the current trade tension helps European countries underscore the significance of Chinese goods, services and investments into Europe.
“My country is open for business without any doubt,” the minister told CGTN. “The summit between China and the EU in July went pretty well. And I understand that there is the wish on both sides to open the market even more, to have less restriction [than before], to have reciprocal agreement,” Gramegna noted.
(CGTN’s Xia Cheng also contributed to the story.)