Former WTO Secretary-General "China-EU Union must fight US trade regulations"

Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization and WTO, said "China and the EU should resolve the conflict and establish a united front with the United States" amid growing concerns over a U.S.-China trade conflict due to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's re-election.Former President

Rami said in an interview with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post in Shanghai, China, on the 9th local time, "China and the EU must confront Trump's return to power, which will threaten global trade."

Former President Lammy, who led the WTO from 2005 to 2013 and has been critical of protectionism, said, "The U.S. trade regulations will affect not only China but also other countries. China should establish a common position with other trading powers such as the EU, India, Japan and South Korea."

During his first term in office, Trump declared a trade war with China in 2018 to address the U.S. trade deficit and imposed tariffs on $300 billion (about 420 trillion) worth of Chinese goods.

Recently, China has also been in a trade conflict with the EU, which has decided to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

However, former President Lammy made it clear that this could not be seen as a "trade war," saying that the situation is different from the U.S.-China trade conflict.

He is also an honorary professor at the European School of International Business (CEIBS) in China, and has also made a diagnosis of the current economic crisis facing China.

"The nature of China's economy is a problem now that consumption is stagnant and savings are excessive," he said. "If domestic consumption is not sufficient for production capacity, we have no choice but to export, which in turn leads to trade problems."

"China should quickly adjust the imbalance between consumption and savings," he said. "The large-scale economic stimulus measures that China will implement should also focus on promoting domestic consumption."Former President

Rami also added suggestions for the WTO.

"The WTO's rules, written 30 years ago, are sometimes out of step with the present due to rapid digital transformation and environmental changes," he said. "Once China and the EU agree on how to update the rules so that the WTO can work better, other countries will follow suit."

"Although bilateral agreements or regional agreements are on the rise, what the WTO should do is eventually reduce trade barriers," he stressed.