China seen as sheet anchor amid global trade storm

The tariff crisis brought about by the United States has offered a unique opportunity for China to establish itself as the world's indispensable partner under the principles of multilateralism and free trade, a business executive from the Middle East has said.

Zayed bin Aweidha, CEO of Abu Dhabi Investment Group, or ADIG, said the world is on the edge of an international economic crisis, as panic sentiments took hold of the market on Monday and erased trillions in investor wealth.

"The tariffs are just a trigger and the problem is much bigger because the United States wants to make another kind of world trade order (which is) more focused on itself," he said in an exclusive interview with China Daily, suggesting the US aims to reshape global trade rules favoring its own interests.

His comments on the sidelines of the Annual Investment Meeting Congress in Abu Dhabi coincided with escalating economic tensions as the global economy was shaken up after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 2 on the so-called reciprocal tariffs.

As China advances institutional reforms and cultivates new quality productive forces, the CEO highlighted China's strategic positioning amid the turmoil.

For now, the Middle East is a very good option for China to cooperate with, he said, adding that the United Arab Emirates has the largest number of sovereign funds in the world.

"I think this crisis might be the worst one and it requires a minimum of five to 10 years for recovery," he predicted, drawing parallels to historical crises. "You can't just make the very rich richer. You can't take all the wealth from all over the world and centralize it in the US.This creates a disturbance in the global economy," he said.

The US unilateral imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" is affecting countries and regions worldwide, including some economies classified as "least developed countries" by the United Nations. On Wednesday, Trump said he was pausing his new tariffs for most trading partners for 90 days.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in its latest Economic Outlook, forecast that global GDP growth is projected to moderate to 3.1 percent in 2025 and 3 percent in 2026. The OECD also warned that higher and broader trade barriers will negatively impact growth around the world and add to inflation.

Sean Doherty, head of international trade and investment and a member of the executive committee at the World Economic Forum, said any escalation of trade conflicts will be "extremely damaging" to the global economy as the tariffs are troubling for businesses because of uncertainties.

'Inefficient tool'

"Tariffs ultimately are an inefficient policy tool. One of the most important things for trade and investment is predictability. I think one of the difficulties with the latest tariffs is that businesses are uncertain as to what the future of the means (will be)," he said.

"Global rules-based frameworks remain critical for supply chain predictability," Doherty stressed, adding that businesses need a clear understanding of the policy actions taken by other countries for long-term predictability and stability in order to build global value chains.

Although the US is a large and important economy, Doherty said it still makes up for a small fraction of global trade.

"One of the most important things that we can do at the moment is to facilitate trade that is still wanted. One of the reactions to the new tariffs will be that businesses will diversify their supply chains and look to new markets. That may mean trading more with Africa, Latin America and South Asia," he added.