China's Xi warns protectionism 'dealing severe blow' to trade

Johannesburg: China’s President Xi Jinping today warned that growing protectionism was damaging trade and that the world had to choose “between cooperation and confrontation” as the threat of a US-led trade war looms.

“Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting, dealing a severe blow to multilateralism and the multilateral trading regime,” Xi told the opening of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

“We are facing a choice between cooperation and confrontation.