End the US-China trade war for the sake of the pandemic-stricken world

Name: India's brutal Covid wave brings tragic scenes to small town hospital as death toll passes 250,000
Uploaded: 2021-05-17T19:30:12.000Z
Duration: 2 min 27 s
Description: India's brutal Covid wave brings tragic scenes to small town hospital as death toll passes 250,000

US-China trade frictions are detrimental to global well-being and this needs resolving quickly. It is time to bring China into the G7 fold

Both countries need a resumption of freer trade and more open access to each other’s markets, along with a common pledge to cut the bilateral deficit

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Shipping containers stand beneath gantry cranes at Yangshan port in Shanghai. World trade is gradually recovering but bringing the US-China trade war to a quick conclusion could make a marked difference. Photo: Bloomberg

David Brown

Published: 3:30am, 18 May 2021Updated: 3:31am, 18 May 2021

The heads of the Group of Seven – the US, Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan – will be gathering in just over three weeks’ time in the British seaside resort of Carbis Bay, near St Ives in Cornwall. It won’t just be sand, sea and surf on their minds but much more pressing issues: the pandemic, politics and the policies that will be needed to get the world back into better shape.

There will be a major absence at the table, though: China’s, which is a pity as its key position in the world economy could make a vital difference to the speed of the global healing process. After all the world has been through in recent years, it’s time for rapprochement between the US and China to ensure global recovery is given the highest priority.

The past few years of trade frictions between Washington and Beijing have been to the detriment of global well-being and this needs resolving as soon as possible. It is definitely time to bring China into the G7 fold.

In the spirit of a united world coming together to beat the pandemic, there is no better time to pool resources. Covid-19 infection rates might have peaked in the major industrial countries but the virus continues to spread in other parts of the world.

Without significant assistance and medical aid poured into the affected areas, the world is still extremely exposed to risks, especially if infection rates continue to accelerate in less-developed economies. It is a humanitarian disaster waiting to explode.

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India's brutal Covid wave brings tragic scenes to small town hospital as death toll passes 250,000

According to the International Monetary Fund, global GDP contracted by 3.3 per cent in 2020 but Latin America suffered a much bigger fall of 7 per cent, while India saw output collapse by 8 per cent.