EUROPEAN Union leaders on Friday warned of the damage caused by the ongoing US-China trade dispute to the world economy and urged for rules-based international trade, the media reported. As the world’s Group of 20 economies kicked off their two-day summit in the Japanese port city of Osaka, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the strained relations between Washington and Beijing over trade were “difficult” and contributing to a slowdown in the global economy.

 

 

“We meet at a time when the world economy is encountering uncertainties,” Juncker said about the US-China trade war that has overshadowed the summit, with all eyes watching whether the two countries could move towards resolving their issues. “In our talks with both the US and Chinese authorities … I was drawing their attention to the harmful impact this controversial matter is creating,” he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

 

 

All countries would struggle to prosper if others did not play by the rules, Juncker added. European Council President Donald Tusk called on all countries to adopt a more open and liberal stance, saying: “The global stage cannot become an arena … where egotists would dominate in some regimes and nationalistic emotions would dominate over economic terms.”

 

 

“We came here to defend and promote liberal democracy. Whoever claims liberal democracy is obsolete also claims freedom is obsolete, the rule of law is obsolete, and human rights are obsolete. But in Europe, these are essential and vibrant values.”