China’s Xi warns against West’s protectionism at Davos summit

China, the world's second-largest economy, says it has emerged as the bulwark of free trade and globalisation, and said that any act that distorts free trade is against the spirit of globalisation and that no country will win in a trade war.

Addressing delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of the dangers of protectionism and the futility of trade distortions, trying to present himself as a champion of globalisation.

Xi's warning comes amidst protectionist sparks appearing the developed world, especially in US and Europe and a divergence of economic thinking among countries of the western hemisphere.

The Chinese President appeared to vent concerns over the rise of populist protectionism across Europe and in the US, where November`s election of Donald Trump sent shockwaves across the trading world.

There is "no point in blaming economic globalisation for the world`s problems," he said, saying that the process was not at the root of the Syrian refugee situation or the 2008 financial crisis.

"It`s true that economic globalisation has created new problems, but this is no justification to write off economic globalisation altogether"

Globalisation should be "more inclusive, more sustainable," he said, adding that currently existing global institutions are "inadequate" and should be more "representative."

Xi`s speech was highly anticipated by the Davos club that was looking for guidance in the face of an incoming Trump administration in Washington that has pledged to protect American interests.

While acknowledging that globalisation was a "double-edged sword," Xi argued that the benefits far outweighed the negatives and there could be no turning away from international economic integration.

"The global economy is a big ocean you cannot escape from," he said, likening goods, services and capital to waters that cannot be channeled back into landlocked streams and lakes.

"Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room. Wind and rain may be kept outside, but so is light and air," he said.

"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," he added

While the US has started looking inward with the  incoming US President repeatedly accusing China of carrying out trade policies that have led to massive US job losses and has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 45 per cent on the country`s goods.

Beijing is now seeking to wear the mantle of world economic leadership set to be shrugged off by Trump, by building regional free-trade arrangements, and alienating those that are "exclusive" or fragmented.

China is pushing two major trade pacts, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.