UN Chief Warns of Decoupling of US, China

New York: It is possible and essential for the United States (US) and China to have meaningful engagement on climate, trade and technology to avoid the decoupling of economies or even the possibility of future confrontation, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said.
 
"We risk what I have called the Great Fracture – the decoupling of the world’s two largest economies," he stated in his remarks at the World Economic Forum.
 
"A tectonic rift that would create two different sets of trade rules, two dominant currencies, two internets and two conflicting strategies on artificial intelligence," he added.
Previously, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that dividing the global economy into two blocs could cut global gross domestic product (gdp) by$1.4 trillion.
 
"We face the gravest levels of geopolitical division and mistrust in generations and it is undermining everything," he said.
 
"This is the last thing we need," he continued.