Malloch-Brown praises country for support of global free trade at a time of increasing political uncertainty

China's leadership in free trade, sustainable growth and the international rule of law comes at an important moment, with the struggle between globalization and protectionism, says Lord Malloch-Brown, former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.

He says President Xi Jinping's speech defending the benefits of free trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January was an important milestone in China's global role and expressed admiration for Xi's strong leadership in driving forward China's complex economy in a coherent way.

"I think China left Davos as the default champion of economic integration, free trade and the international systems," he says, adding that the commitment to ensuring that global trade remains open is particularly important at a time when US President Donald Trump is taking a more protectionist stance.

In Malloch-Brown's view, China's leadership on globalization comes at a crucial time, as protectionist pressure arises across the Western world and with the struggle between globalization and protectionism likely to continue for decades.

"In my own view, throughout the rest of our lives politics is going to be a competition between those who believe global integration brings great benefits and those who oppose it on behalf of groups losing out," he says. "It's a mistake to see Trump as a one-off case, as it reflects certain emerging opinions in the United States and Europe."

Other examples Malloch-Brown cites include French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's campaign promising to save jobs through protectionist measures and the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

Having previously served in a range of political roles in the UK and with international organizations, Malloch-Brown has witnessed the way in which China has increasingly exercised its global leadership. He cites China's commitment to UN peacekeeping and combating climate change as key examples.

Under the framework of the UN's COP 21 conference on climate change in Paris, China announced it aims to hit its CO2 emissions peak by around 2030 and slash CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60 to 65 percent from the 2005 level.

In the area of peacekeeping, China committed a standby military force of 8,000 when Xi addressed the 2015 Leaders' Summit on UN Peacekeeping.

Meanwhile, China is taking concrete steps to promote global trade, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative has received support from more than 100 economies and international organizations. More than 40 have signed cooperative agreements with China.

He adds that the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is playing an important role in funding projects in Belt and Road areas and in championing a new model for multinational development bank operations.

"What's striking about the AIIB is its ability to deploy lots of capital, especially by pulling capital from the private sector. On scale and ambition, many older generation multinational development banks can learn from it," Malloch-Brown says.

The AIIB generally invests in the initial stages of big infrastructure projects, allowing the private sector to carry less risk.

Malloch-Brown says the AIIB's capital commitment is able to attract private sector money because its agenda is closely aligned with the Chinese government's emphasis on China becoming an important trading nation.

"It offers the private sector long-term consistency and profitability," he says.

Malloch-Brown says that while China has historically focused more on its own economic development as a developing nation, its increasing investment and trading relations have helped it step into a more rounded international leadership role.

"Inevitably, while trade may lead the way, China is finding its engagement in more parts of the world. It is drawn into an ever-wider web of alliances, relationships and commitments, which may have begun as buttressing trade engagements. But now it has outgrown that as a more fully fledged global power."

In such a context, it is more important for China and the US to maintain a good relationship, Malloch-Brown says, adding that it is an issue "everyone is watching with great concern" because potential political conflict or a potential trade war between the world's two largest economies is "not just a problem for the US and China, but for the rest of the world".

Malloch-Brown says the tension so far has mainly been created by the US, and that Trump's view that China is undermining the US' manufacturing sector is a key factor.

"One has to hope calmer heads prevail in Washington. There are plenty of flash points that could escalate to confrontation of some kind, given the poorly disciplined communication of this new administration," he says.

To avoid such dangerous confrontation, it would be helpful for China to "find as many channels and ways as possible" to communicate and avoid misunderstanding because limited diplomatic contact could lead to problems. He mentioned the 1972 visit to China made by US president Richard Nixon, who met with Chairman Mao Zedong, as an important example of the significance of open communication.

Nixon's trip played a significant role in normalizing relations between the US and China, marking the end of 25 years of separation.

Meanwhile, Malloch-Brown stresses that business contacts and cooperation are important to cement bilateral relations, in addition to diplomatic communications. He cites the meeting between Trump and Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, as an encouraging example. When Ma met Trump in January, he pledged to create a million jobs in the US.

"Jack Ma was an early visitor to Trump tower. That's a good thing. The more business and government contact the better. The more people contact the better," Malloch-Brown says.

He says Trump's view that China is merely an exporter of low-cost goods to the US is an "incredibly dated view", because examples such as Alibaba's investment in the US market show that China is an investor in the US private-sector economy and that it plays an important role as a part of the supply chain to help US firms, including Apple and many US automotive manufacturers.

In addition to trade and economic growth, a constructive relationship between China and the US is important for global security, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. It is encouraging to see that China has dealt with the Trump administration through "calm and measured response", showing it is not easily provoked, Malloch-Brown says.

"There will be an education process in Washington for the new president to understand the new complexity of US-China relations - and the cost to the US of abruptly breaking them - and the challenges of trying to keep the relationship, because of the benefits it brings," he says.

cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com