EU President urges Trump, Putin not to undermine global order
(Baonghean.vn) - A senior European Union (EU) official on July 16 urged US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China to cooperate with Europe to avoid trade wars and prevent conflicts and instability.
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| European Council President Donald Tusk holds a joint press conference after signing a joint declaration on NATO-EU cooperation in Brussels, Belgium on July 10. Photo: AFP/Getty |
European Council (EC) President Donald Tusk delivered a speech in Beijing at the opening ceremony of a summit between China and the EU, just hours before the summit between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
“We are all aware of the fact that the structure of the world is changing before our eyes and it is our common responsibility to make it change for the better,” Mr. Tusk said.
Last week, Tusk condemned Trump's repeated criticism of European allies and urged the leader to remember who his friends were when meeting Mr Putin.
In Beijing, Tusk asserted that Europe, China, the United States and Russia have a “common responsibility” not to undermine the global order but to improve it by reforming international trade rules.
“That is why I am calling on our Chinese hosts, as well as Presidents Trump and Putin, to start this process together with a deep reform of the WTO,” Tusk said earlier, referring to the World Trade Organization. “There is still time to prevent conflict and chaos,” he said.
Washington has imposed 25% tariffs on $34 billion of goods in response to complaints that Beijing is hurting US companies by stealing or pressuring them to transfer technology.
The country has also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from allies such as Canada, Mexico and the EU. The 28-member bloc has responded with import tariffs on $3.25 billion worth of US goods.
