Economic barriers are driving world to confrontation: China

Bid to politicize economies will fragment the world, need to keep supply chains stable, says Chinese premier

China's premier Li Qiang warned governments that attempts to politicize their economies will only fragment the world, as the US and Europe "de-risk" supply chains from the Asian nation.

"The invisible barriers put up by some people in recent years are becoming widespread and pushing the world into fragmentation and even confrontation," China's No. 2 official said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, a coastal city close to Beijing in northern China.

"We should oppose the politicization of economic issues and work together to keep global industrial and supply chains stable, smooth and secure," he added at the first in-person gathering of the forum since 2019 following the end of covid restrictions. The event is often described as the "Summer Davos".

The Chinese premier's comments come as the Biden administration pushes forward with an executive order that would regulate and potentially cut off certain US investments in China, according to people familiar with the plans, and as Russia's war in Ukraine sparked an attempted military uprising against President Vladimir Putin, casting further doubt over the future stability of global energy markets.

Li's address was a rare opportunity to hear China's premier official lay out his road map for the world's second largest economy, as its recovery flashes a growing number of warning signs.