Balance of the world shifting, former French minister says

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Europe

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The economic and political balance of the world is shifting, and the resulting challenges must be addressed through communication, not confrontation.

That was the message from former French economy minister Edmond Alphandery last week, as he spoke out about the changing global landscape in an interview with CGTN.

"The Trump administration should take into account the obvious fact that there is a big change in the relative powers, economic powers and even political powers, in the world," Alphandery said in an interview at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

"The rise of China is something extremely, extremely important. And it will be even more important in the future. But it's not only about China, it's about emerging markets, emerging economies."

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Speaking ahead of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, at which global governance and trade are expected to be dominant themes, Alphandery said that while the U.S. dollar remained the prime world currency, the euro and the yuan would become more internationally accepted.

"The reason why the dollar is still the currency of the world today and will remain it, for the time being, it is because of the strength of the American economy. It won't last probably; it won't last because of the rise of China and because of the strength of the euro and the European Union.

"There is a change in the distribution of power, in that case, currency power, which will bring some new landscape. What landscape, no one knows."

Edmond Alphandery gives the McKinnon Lecture at Renmin University of China, Beijing, November 21, 2018. /CGTN Photo

Alphandery argued that as the world rebalances and centers of power shift, negotiation via existing global mechanisms is vital.

"I am not very much at ease with the approach of the Trump administration in the trade discussion. Not only with China but also with the Europeans and even with Canada. I don't think it is the best approach. On the contrary, I think the other countries should insist on the respect of the rules of negotiation."

Alphandery was involved in the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) while serving in the French government in the 1990s, and believes it "has done a good job and is still doing a good job."

"It's a good place to discuss, to negotiate. And there is a lot to negotiate on both sides. That is, in my opinion, a real mistake of the Trump administration. The way they are doing things, the way they are approaching the issues: confrontation. I don't think it's the right way."

Former French economy minister Edmond Alphandery during the G7 Summit in Naples, July 1994. /VCG Photo

The WTO's seven-judge court is now down to three judges, however, after the Trump administration moved to block appointments. A minimum of three judges are required to oversee each case, at a time when the organization is presiding over a record number of disputes.

Leaders from China and the EU have pushed reform of the WTO, and Alphandery accepted that "improvements" need to be made to reflect "a new balance of power and new issues."

"But I think the framework, at least for arbitration, remains powerful and has to be respected," he added.

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The former minister contended that strengthened China-EU ties could act as a model for the benefits of powerful economies working in concert.

"It is in the interest of Europe to work much closer with China. To be much more present in the Chinese economy. There are a lot of opportunities which would be beneficial to China and Europe," Alphandery, founder and chairman of the Euro 50 Group, said.

"It could show to the rest of the world that we are not in the kind of unidimensional world where there is one country which can impose its will to the rest of the world – and that is very important."

One area ripe for further cooperation in the battle against climate change, Alphandery, who has called for the EU and China to engage in a common carbon pricing initiative, stressed.

"On climate change, which is the main challenge for the world, at least in the long run, again Europe and China have a lot to do together. For the wellbeing not only of China and Europe but for the wellbeing of the world."

(Videographer: Song Jingyu)