Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang told the world\u2019s political and business elites in Davos on Tuesday that \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d trade barriers were a threat to the global economy, in a not-so-subtle dig at the United States. Li\u2019s remarks came as the World Economic Forum\u2019s (WEF) 54th annual conference is preoccupied with a slew of global risks, including war in Ukraine and bombardment in Gaza, climate change and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. Li shared the spotlight with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the forum in person for the first time in an effort to maintain military support from Kyiv\u2019s allies after nearly two years of war with Russia. Li spoke just days after a tense presidential election in Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims as part of China. But the most senior Chinese official to attend the WEF since 2017 did not address the election and instead focused on trade, his country\u2019s economy and AI. He said \u201cnew discriminatory trade and investment measures\u201d had appeared every year, adding: \u201cAny obstacles or disruptions can slow down or block the flow of lifeblood of the world economy.\u201d Li did not name any countries but Beijing has tussled with the United States and the European Union over trade in recent years, particularly on high-tech and clean energy. US-China trade tensions soared under the presidency of Donald Trump and have continued under President Joe Biden. In October, the United States announced tighter export curbs on state-of-the-art artificial intelligence chips, sparking fury in Beijing. The EU, meanwhile, has launched a probe into Chinese electric car subsidies. Without naming names, Li said: \u201cThere are many examples where one side\u2019s capriciousness undermines mutual trust with others.\u201d But US and European companies have long complained of obstacles to doing business on a level playing field in China. Ukraine support Zelensky took the podium hours later and used the venue to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin as a \u201cpredator\u201d who would pursue his invasion of Ukraine even if fighting paused on the sprawling front. Earlier, he met the \u201cCEOs for Ukraine\u201d group and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Kyiv is scrambling to ensure that support from allies does not waver during the biggest war in Europe since World War II. The world\u2019s attention has shifted to the Middle East amid fears of a spillover from the conflict in Gaza. \u201cWe are determined to sustain our support for Ukraine,\u201d Blinken said after the talks. Republicans in the US Congress are blocking a renewal of US military assistance for Ukraine, and Kyiv and its allies worry about reduced support if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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