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US-China trade from 1985-2024

Luisa Vieira

Graphic Truth: The US trade deficit with China, from zero to now

Hard as it is to imagine amid the harrowing US-China trade war these days, there was a time when the two countries hardly did any business with each other.

That time was about 40 years ago, in the mid-1980s.

In those days, China had just barely begun the sweeping economic reforms that would turn a country wrecked by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution into a new “workshop of the world.” By churning out exports of everything from sneakers and sofas to smartphones and solar panels, China carved out a crucial role in the global economy.

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- YouTube

AI in 2025: The "new electricity" could create huge economic growth

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant vision of the future—it’s here, and it’s transforming the way we live, work, and innovate. At the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, our Global Stage panel brought together some of the world’s brightest minds to discuss the profound impact AI could have on global growth, society, and infrastructure.

Our thought-provoking panel discussion, moderated by Becky Anderson, Anchor & Managing Editor of CNN Abu Dhabi, featured Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media; Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the WTO; Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft; and Peng Xiao, CEO of G42. They shared unique insights into the opportunities and challenges of the AI revolution.

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From Davos: Watch our Global Stage discussion on the AI economy

At this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, our Global Stage panel discussion, "The AI Economy: An Engine for Local Growth", will examine AI’s growing global impact, the potential for enormous benefits to society, and the investments necessary to ensure equitable diffusion and adoption of AI tools. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape economies, its potential to drive massive growth is undeniable. The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that through 2030, AI will contribute $19.9 trillion to global GDP and drive 3.5% growth. However, realizing this potential requires careful attention to how and where AI expands, and who is included in its growth.

Watch the live premiere now at gzeromedia.com/globalstage.

Participants:

  • Ian Bremmer, President and Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
  • Nadia Calviño, President, European Investment Bank
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General, World Trade Organization
  • Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft
  • Peng Xiao, CEO, G42
  • Becky Anderson, (moderator) Host of CNN Connect and Managing Editor of CNN Abu Dhabi

This livestream is the latest in the Webby-nominated Global Stage series, a partnership between GZERO and Microsoft that examines critical issues at the intersection of technology, politics, and society.

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- YouTube

Crisis at the WTO: Fixing a broken dispute system

The appeals body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is like the Supreme Court for global trade. But it’s fundamentally broken: it hasn’t been able to hear any cases or issue decisions since 2019.

The US has blocked new appointments of WTO appeals judges under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, complaining that the organization’s rules have hurt US jobs and industry while it lets China protect its massive domestic market from foreign competition. Until WTO reform happens, the US says, it will block any new judges from sitting on the appeals bench.

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Climate change is "wreaking havoc" on supply chains | GZERO Media

Climate change is "wreaking havoc" on supply chains

Climate change is disrupting industries around the world, and that has a major impact on global trade. On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala lays out the case for diversifying and decentralizing production around the world to build resiliency and reduce risk in global supply chains.

“Climate change is wreaking havoc in so many places,” Okonjo-Iweala says, “If you concentrate your production in any one place, you risk really disrupting things.

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Africa's economy could rival China or India, says WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | GZERO Media

Africa's economy could rival China or India, says WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The African continent has a population of 1.4 billion people, but it imports more than 90% of its medicines and 90% of its vaccines. WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the time has come to open up the continent to globalization and encourage businesses to invest in African countries.

On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Okonjo-Iweala makes the case for decentralizing and diversifying global trade to open up new markets, bring Global South countries into the mainstream of the world economy, and reduce reliance on any one country for crucial goods and services.

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World trade at risk without globalization, warns WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | GZERO Media

World trade at risk without globalization, warns WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to talk about world trade, the complicated business of moving goods and services across borders around the world.

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Podcast: Calling for the "reglobalization" of trade: WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Transcript

Listen: Ian Bremmer sits down with World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first person from Africa to lead the organization, for a conversation about the good, the bad, and the future of global trade on the GZERO World podcast.

In the last half century, globalization has dramatically increased economic output, created hundreds of millions of jobs, and lifted millions of people out of poverty. But development between countries has been uneven, and global inequality is on the rise. Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine disrupted exposed weaknesses in the supply chain. And rising tension between the US and China has led to a world economy that’s becoming increasingly fractured.

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