Davos Virtual Forum: China increasingly dominating

It was Chinese President Xi Jinping who opened the Davos forum on Monday, which is being held virtually.

He took advantage of this forum to pose as a defender of globalization.

But of course, globalization on its terms.

China is a dominant power, so it is she who claims to set the world's agenda.

China knows very well how to use the Davos platform to its advantage.

US presidents change, Chinese leadership remains.

Four years ago, when a protectionist Donald Trump determined to protect the American market moved to the White House, Xi Jinping hammered home his message: the world must remain open.

In front of business leaders and investors around the world, the Chinese president was already defending his vision of globalization.

This time, as Joe Biden takes his seat, he is teaching a lesson in multilateralism.

To the world's problems, "global responses and global cooperation" are needed.

And he goes further by warning Washington against pursuing the policy of trade sanctions.

The message is formulated bluntly, when you are a dominant power, you do not take gloves: "threatening, intimidating, resorting to sanctions ... can lead the world into confrontation" and even "trigger a new cold war".

Here is Joe Biden warned.

If Beijing insists, it's because the Democratic president, in essence, doesn't have a very different line from Trump's.

He says it more politely, but he too wants to protect the market and American workers, he too denounces unfair competition and the plunder of intellectual property.

Especially since China increased its economic weight in 2020, it is the only large economy that has recorded positive growth, + 2.3%, despite the Covid.

And last year, for the first time, it became the world's leading destination for foreign investment, ahead of the United States.

This does not prevent Beijing from still worrying about the strength of the global recovery.

The Chinese president spoke of an "agitated" recovery because of the health situation, he did not hide that the world outlook was uncertain, he wished for better coordination of economies within the G20.

China absolutely needs growth, which is the very basis of the regime's legitimacy.

Without growth, anything can go wrong.

Beyond the rhetoric, Xi Jinping has a real interest in the confrontation with the United States being less intense.

That was also the meaning of his message to Joe Biden.

We are waiting for the American response.