WEF defend globalism, debate growing populism movements

World Today

Britain’s Prime Minister Teresa May has told the World Economic Forum that her country’s exit from the EU will not result in isolationism, telling delegates “Britain is and will always be open for business.”

CGTN’s Jack Barton reports from the forum in Davos.

The World Economic Forum was the first stop for Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, after her government announced it would completely exit Europe’s single market when it leaves the EU.

May insists the move does not represent a retreat from globalization, but a chance to strike even better trade deals with the EU and other nations.

China’s president Xi Jinping warned against rising isolationist sentiment, when he became the first Chinese president to visit the forum on Tuesday.

It is a concern shared by other delegates, like U.S. vice president Joe Biden, and not just for economic reasons.

A World Economic Forum report states that a rise of nationalism, and less cooperation among world powers, is raising the risk of global conflicts.

One current conflict discussed on Thursday was Syria. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told forum delegates the United Nations would fully participate in upcoming peace talks.

Russia, Turkey and Iran are convening the talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, in a bid to preserve the Syrian ceasefire.


Jagjit Chadha discusses the impact of populism on economies

How does populism help or hurt domestic and global economies? To learn more about it, CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke with Jagjit Chadha, director for the National Insititute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).