The new president of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, stated today, on the sidelines of a summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin, that the world is facing the “most complex” geopolitical situation of recent decades.
“This is the most complex geopolitical and geoeconomic context we have seen in recent decades,” said Borge Brende, quoted by the French news agency, Agence France-Presse.
“If we fail to relaunch growth, we might unfortunately face a decade of weaker growth,” he added.
Several political and economic leaders from around the world, including Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, are participating this week in the World Economic Forum meeting in Tianjin.
This meeting is also known as the “Summer Davos,” in reference to the famous Davos Forum, also organized by the organization presided over by Brende.
The summit takes place amid conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States, and after several months of a trade standoff between Beijing and Washington, initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Borge Brende stated that it is “too early” to fully assess the impact of this trade war, “as negotiations are still ongoing.”
“But globalization as we knew it has now evolved into a different system,” he noted.
“A new chapter is beginning (…) especially since trade was the engine of growth,” he said.
