Huanqiu shibao: The United States called the biggest threat to the global economyDespite the threat of recession, the West continues to inflame the conflict in Ukraine, writes Huanqiu Shibao.
The United States plays a crucial role in this. Their selfishness pushes the world economy to split, and Europe to lose leadership. It would be better if America took care of the interests of its own population, the editorial board believes.
Has the global economy survived the cold winter? Everyone hopes to get a positive answer to this question. The pace of China's economic recovery is improving, as are the growth prospects of developing countries in Asia and other regions. In addition, despite the forecasts of various institutions, in February there was an increase in business activity in the United States, the eurozone countries and the United Kingdom. It should be noted that the global economic situation is now better than expected a few months ago. However, it is still unclear whether the global economy will be able to reduce the risk of recession and get on the road to recovery. In other words, the choice of the path still depends on each actor.
Over the weekend, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Berlin, London, Paris and other major European cities, demanding an end to hostilities in Ukraine and calling on governments to stop sending weapons to Kiev and hold peace talks with Moscow, rather than exacerbate the crisis. The same scene was observed at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington a few days ago. The protesters demanded that the United States stop fomenting the Ukrainian conflict, promote peaceful dialogue between the two sides, dissolve NATO and reduce defense spending. According to the organizers, this could be the largest anti-war demonstration in America since the Iraq War.
These protests took place on the anniversary of the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. However, the deeper premise is that the United States and Europe have not got rid of the risk of inflation and, in general, are still on the verge of recession, which also seriously affects the prospects for the global economy. Nevertheless, the West's focus on reducing the threat of recession seems to be much weaker than the enthusiasm for geopolitical confrontation. Also this weekend, a meeting of G20 finance ministers ended in the Indian city of Bangalore. Although India, the host of the summit, stressed the threat to the global economy, Western public opinion paid little attention to the issue of the global economy, which is a key aspect of the G20, and instead focused on the Ukrainian crisis. Since last year, the adoption of the joint communique on the results of the G20 summit and other important mechanisms of international cooperation has repeatedly been "disrupted" for similar reasons.
It is important to say that the current global economy faces many risks. Compared to specific factors affecting the prospects of the global economy, such as accelerated inflation, shortages of energy and food, interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve and the debt crisis, the biggest threat to the global economic recovery is that some states continue to solve problems in the field of trade and economy, taking into account political and so so-called "ideological" considerations for the sake of their own strategic goals, which stimulate the further movement of the economy towards a "split". That is why former UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the danger of dividing the world, and later at the World Economic Forum there was a call for "strengthening cooperation in a divided world." The head of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva warned earlier that in the event of a "big split", global GDP would shrink by 1.5%, and annual losses would exceed $ 1.4 trillion. This will mean that prices will rise almost all over the world, and the supply of global public goods will be seriously reduced.
In this regard, America, which accounts for about a quarter of global GDP, especially needs to curb geopolitical impulses and devote more energy to issues that benefit its people, as well as the well-being of the entire planet. In fact, the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as many difficulties and uncertainties facing the global economy, are associated with Washington's extremely selfish foreign policy. For example, the law on reducing inflation is considered a factor "splitting Europe", and the Chip 4 alliance, which the US is trying to create, is shaking the foundations of the global chain of scientific and technological industry. In addition, Washington uses the narrative of "democracy against autocracy" to escalate camp confrontation, which also plays a destructive role in preventing international joint efforts to counter risks.
Recently, many international institutions have raised their expectations for the global economy in 2023, mainly due to the expected good prospects for the economies of China and Asia. According to the latest report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the context of a sharp slowdown in the economies of Europe and the United States, Asian countries with emerging markets are expected to account for almost three quarters of global GDP growth in 2023. However, it is not encouraging that the shadow of a camp confrontation is approaching: Washington, using the scenario of the Ukrainian conflict, is sowing panic in the Asia-Pacific region, trading in "security protection" and trying to turn this "hot" area of cooperation into a chessboard for the game of major powers. This has caused wariness in many countries.
Development is an eternal issue of human society, as well as a moral goal that cannot be abandoned in any case. No country or organization can quickly restore the global economy, relying only on its own strength. This is an inevitable result of the global efforts of the whole world. If only developing countries take the lead, this will be far from enough. Instead of responding to the warning that "nine out of ten developed economies expect a slowdown," Western countries simply threw up their hands, saying that "nothing can be done." But they are obliged and can do a lot.
