Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia bonded in an authoritarian bromance Friday to rip the US over its trade policies — and accuse the Trump administration of bullying.
Aggressive US tactics such as a campaign against Chinese telecoms firm Huawei will lead to trade wars — and possibly real wars — Putin said, in a show of solidarity with Xi at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The Russian leader accused Team Trump of “unbridled economic egoism,” singling out US efforts to thwart a Russian gas pipeline to Europe and a campaign to persuade countries to blackball Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker.
“States which previously promoted free trade with honest and open competition have started speaking the language of trade wars and sanctions, of open economic raiding using arm-twisting and scare tactics, of eliminating competitors using so-called non-market methods,” Putin said.
“Look for example at the situation around Huawei which they are trying not to just squeeze out, but to unceremoniously push out of the global market. It’s already being called the first technological war of the emerging digital era in some circles.”
The attack was seen as a clear show of Russian unity with China at a time when Beijing is locked in a trade war with President Trump and Moscow’s own ties with the West are at a post-Cold War low.
The world risked slipping into an era when “general international rules will be exchanged for the laws of administrative and legal mechanisms … which is how the United States is unfortunately behaving, spreading its jurisdiction over the whole world,” Putin added.
“It’s a path to endless conflicts, trade wars and maybe not just trade wars. Figuratively speaking, it’s a path to battles without rules that pit everyone against everyone else.”
Xi called for world powers to protect the global multilateral trade system.
“Along with the emergence of reverse-globalization and hegemonism, global society faces increasing new challenges,” Xi said.
Russia has long complained about Western sanctions imposed on it over disputes including its behavior in Ukraine.
Washington has asked countries to reject Huawei technology in the development of new mobile phone networks, arguing that it could be vulnerable to Chinese eavesdropping.
The Chinese leader’s visit to Russia comes as he seeks to face down Trump amid escalating tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
Trump, who has touted his personal relationships with both Putin and Xi, has slapped punitive tariffs on China, which retaliated by imposing levies on US imports.
With Wires
