Europe, China must unite against protectionism: Chinese ambassador to Britain

Europe and China must unite against protectionism, said Chinese AmbassadorLiu Xiaoming to Britain on Thursday.

In an article published by the "Financial Times", Liu said Europe and China should stand together against protectionism, stressing that recent measures by the United States risk triggering a trade war and hampering global growth.

He also pointed out that the world is at a crossroad between cooperation and confrontation at a critical time when the international community should be upholding the global trading system.

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Throughout the history of international trade, protectionism has been a spectre stalking the world, Liu remarked.

China has been the powerhouse for global growth and the main contributor to an open world economy in recent years, he said.

Liu noted that Britain and Europe have been advocates of trade liberalization and firm supporters of the multilateral trade system.

The leaders of the UK, France and Germany have expressed their concerns over US protectionism and stressed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules should be the basis for solving trade disputes, he said, and this clearly points to shared interests for China and Europe in safeguarding the multilateral trade regime.

Quoting a saying in Europe that "a single tree cannot block the chilly wind", the ambassador stressed that only if the UK, Europe and China stand shoulder to shoulder, will they be able to uphold openness and cooperation and safeguard the international trade regime from the dangers of protectionism.

The article was published in the hard copy, online version and the Chinese online version of the "Financial Times", one of the mainstream media in the world.