Diplomat says China would assume world leadership if needed

Record ID: 165344

  • Title: Diplomat says China would assume world leadership if needed
  • Date: 23rd January 2017
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 23, 2017) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE STARTING REPORTERS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY'S INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, ZHANG JUN, SAYING: "If China does not play its role the world situation will be even more terrible and China won't benefit at all." NEWS CONFERENCE IN SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY'S INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, ZHANG JUN, SAYING: "A trade war or an exchange rate war won't be advantageous to any country. I don't believe the Trump government wants on the one hand to have a trade and exchange rate war and on the other hand wants to have strong growth for the United States." NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING
  • Embargoed: 6th February 2017 11:14
  • Keywords: China politics diplomat USA leadership trade
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00160AWKZR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: China does not want world leadership but could be forced to assume that role if others step back from that position, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday (January 23), after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put "America first" in his first speech.
    Topping the bill at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese President Xi Jinping portrayed China as the leader of a globalised world where only international cooperation could solve the big problems.
    Speaking days before Trump assumed the presidency, Xi also urged countries to resist isolationism, signalling Beijing's desire to play a bigger role on the global stage.
    "If China does not play its role the world situation will be even more terrible and China won't benefit at all," Zhang Jun, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's international economics department, said during a briefing with foreign journalists in Beijing.
    At his inauguration on Friday (January 20), Trump struck a nationalist and populist tone, pledging to end what he called an "American carnage" of rusted factories and crime.
    China is the world's second-largest economy and others also rely on it for their economic growth, Zhang said.
    While Trump said American workers have been devastated by the outsourcing of jobs abroad, he did not mention China by name in his inaugural speech. However, he has threatened to put punitive tariffs on imports of Chinese goods.
    Zhang said he thought Trump would not be able to achieve his economic growth goals if he was also fighting trade wars.
    "A trade war or an exchange rate war won't be advantageous to any country. I don't believe the Trump government wants on the one hand to have a trade and exchange rate war and on the other hand wants to have strong growth for the United States," Zhang added.
    Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Xi had sent a congratulatory message to Trump upon his assumption of office, but gave no other details.
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