Robert Zoellick: ‘I was against Trump in the first place’

The former World Bank leader warned that the world could look like 1900 if countries did not work together to solve the current crisis.

Mr. Robert Zoellick noted that the gap between the United States and China is a serious threat to the global economic recovery.

Mr. Zoellick, one of the highest officials in the United States, has advised six American presidents throughout his career.

He told the BBC that cooperation is “the only way for the global economy to emerge from a recession.”

Zoellick, who also served as the US deputy foreign minister, said his biggest concern is rising tensions between the United States and China.

“I think [mối quan hệ Mỹ Trung] It’s in free fall right now and I don’t think we know where the bottom is, and it’s a very dangerous situation, “he told BBC Asia Business News.

Zoellick warned that “the world could look like the world of 1900 when the great powers competed” if countries began to avoid globalization and pursue nationalist interests.

Mr. Zoellick served as President of the World Bank from 2007 to 2012, years of the global financial crisis.

As a director of this organization, he has worked closely with the International Monetary Fund and with governments around the world to resolve the financial crisis.

“The 2008-09 financial crisis was a very serious event, but we had the G20, [và] Central banks cooperate. President Bush and later President Obama are part of the international effort along with [lúc đó là thủ tướng Vương quốc Anh] Gordon Brown, “he said.

“Honestly, even China once had a very strong stimulus program and cooperated in many different ways. Today we don’t have that sense of cooperation.”

Zoellick called on the United States to work closely with China to find a solution to the pandemic, rather than “blame China.”

The person he blames for causing a lot of harm is the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

Mr. Zoellick served under Republican Presidents George W Bush and George HW Bush. But he made clear his resentment toward the current Republican president.

“I was opposed to Trump from the beginning … not only because of his political stance, but also because of what I thought was a mistake in his character.

“I was concerned about what I was going to do with the institutions and the constitution and we are seeing that this is emerging, and in the pandemic we are seeing another side, which is a matter of capacity.”

Zoellick believes President Trump’s skepticism about US alliances and protectionism has heightened anxiety in Asia at a time when Chinese power is beginning to fill the region. .

That’s the theme he explains in his new book, America in the World: The History of American Diplomacy and Foreign Policy.