HONG KONG _ China's vice president said Beijing remained ready to discuss a trade solution with the U.S., as he urged changes in global governance to address a surge in populism and rapid technological advances.
Vice President Wang Qishan _ one of China's best-known economic reformers _ told Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Singapore that trade was still an "anchor and propeller of China-U.S. relations." He prefaced his support for talks _ a refrain Chinese leaders have repeated for months _ with a warning about the dangers of "right-leaning populism" and "unilateralism."
"The Chinese side is ready to have discussions with the U.S. on issues of mutual concern and work for a solution on trade acceptable to both sides," Wang told the crowd of more than 400 business and political leaders. "China will stay calm and sober-minded and embrace greater openness to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results."
Wang was speaking the day after President Xi Jinping pledged at a Shanghai trade expo to further open his country's markets, while taking a few veiled swipes at U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. The rare speech by Wang comes amid an effort by top Communist Party leaders to reassure global investors spooked by the U.S.-China trade war and a deepening slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
"We are facing the challenge of rising populism and unilateralism," Wang said. "Such rapid changes have split some countries and societies. The polarization of right-leaning populism has manifested itself in political demands, which has led to unilateral policies against globalization and seriously affected the international political ecosystem."
While Trump has floated the possibility of a deal when he meets Xi in the coming weeks, the two sides remain far apart on resolving key U.S. complaints. The U.S. president has asked his Cabinet to outline the terms of a possible agreement after an expected meeting between the two leaders at the Group of 20 nations summit in Argentina, Bloomberg News reported Friday.
Trump on Monday said the trade conflict with China could still go either way, telling a conference call with supporters that if China wants to make a deal, but if they don't that's fine as well, he said. "We're in a very big dispute with them right now, and we're winning," Trump said.
Wang is a trusted adviser to Xi and has known the president since their days working in the countryside during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. His appearance in Singapore is his third trip abroad since becoming vice president in March.
Wang has in recent years overseen Xi's signature campaign against corruption and helped set up China's first investment bank with Morgan Stanley in the 1990s. He maintains close ties with prominent Wall Street figures, including former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. He has also played a more diplomatic role, receiving foreign dignitaries in Beijing including Stephen Bannon, a former senior adviser to Trump.
