"One of the most serious threats in the world today is linked to new protectionism, such as curbing the development of emerging countries," Dilma Rousseff, President of the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) and former Brazilian President said at the 11th World Peace Forum in Beijing on July 2. BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 

The forum was hosted by Tsinghua University on July 1-3 under the theme of "Stabilizing an Unstable World through Consensus and Cooperation." Particularly amid mounting global instability and uncertainty, growing mistrust and the rise of anti-globalization, government officials and scholars from around the world gathered at the forum to identify what is needed for pursuing peace and security. 

Some Western politicians have promoted the idea of "de-risking" from China this year.  

Rousseff said she believes rhetoric like “decoupling” or "de-risking" will not only weaken economic globalization and international financial cooperation, but also become political weapons to contain rising countries. 

Xie Tao, Dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, shares a similar view. "The terminology 'de-risking' sounds interesting. We all want less risk and more certainty. But it is actually a euphemism  for decoupling [when used by the U.S.]. The true intention is to curb China’s peaceful rise,” he said during a panel discussion on global supply chain restructuring during the forum.   

Xie has been quite optimistic about the direction in which globalization is heading. He explained, “There is no country in the world that has a completely self-sufficient economy. That’s the law of economic development, and that’s going to be the future of globalization. Unfortunately, at this moment, the U.S. and some other Western countries are calling for ‘de-risking.’ This will lead to a temporary rise in protectionism, but in the long term, countries that embrace globalization will be the biggest winners in the next wave of economic development.” 

“In Australia, we never say ‘de-risking,’” Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher said during the same panel discussion. At a time when all countries are focusing on mitigating risk and increasing the resilience and security of their supply chains, countries need alternative suppliers in case a chain is unexpectedly disrupted, according to Fletcher. “This carries a different meaning from the ‘de-risking’ used by the U.S.,” he said. 

Fletcher said he believes trade is the only way out, or "we’ll fall into the trap of protectionism." He cited data indicating one in every four jobs in Australia is trade-related, and income generated by export surpasses that of other sectors. As the international climate becomes more complicated, trade is crucial in securing economic strength and resilience, he added.   

Rousseff stressed despite the current weakening of globalization dynamics, different parts of the world still remain interdependent, and the idea of cutting off global links and increasing barriers is unrealistic. “Improving global governance is the foundation for common prosperity. We should continuously improve existing institutions and, when necessary, establish new institutions that are more effective, flexible and based on multilateral and multipolar approaches,” she said. 

Copy-edited by G.P. Wilson  

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