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BERN, LELEMUKU.COM - Japan's prime minister says China's slowing growth, Brexit woes and U.S.-China trade disputes pose risks to the world economy, while decrying the World Trade Organization as "behind the curve" and in need of reform to help ease trade tensions.

Shinzo Abe used his return to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after five years to hail the benefits of two "mega deals" in trade— on the Pacific Rim and between Japan and the European Union— at a time when populism and isolationism have elbowed in on an era of globalism.

"The world economy is gradually and moderately improving. I think without a doubt this is taking place," he said. "Worldwide, however, there are risks. U.S.-China trade friction is one of those risks and Japan traditionally has said tit-for-tat trade-restrictive measures are of no benefit."

Abe said the WTO needs to be changed, calling for a trading system that protects intellectual property rights. That was a veiled reference to China, which the Trump administration and others say is cheating on trade rules and stealing intellectual property from Western companies.

"Major changes are taking place and the WTO is behind the curve— it's not keeping up with pace," Abe said in a brief question-and-answer session with the forum's chief. "We have to make the WTO into a more credible existence. We need to reform it."

Abe's appearance and a later speech by Germany's Angela Merkel were shaping up as a one-two punch by major leaders in favor of global cooperation. A day earlier, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extolled their governments' renewed focus on national self-interest.

Meanwhile, several other leaders— like those of the United States, Britain, and France— decided to not travel to Davos to deal with political troubles back home, including the U.S. government shutdown, Brexit, and popular protests.

China was set to get its say, too— and possibly retort against Western complaints about its trade policies. Vice President Wang Qishan was set to speak later Wednesday, the second day of the elite Davos gathering.

Away from the Swiss slopes, efforts were looming to defuse the U.S.-China tensions on trade. A high-level Chinese delegation is expected to visit Washington on Jan. 30, as the two sides seek to strike an accord to end their conflict.

However, Hong Kong's Beijing-backed chief executive said Wednesday she's ``quite worried'' that the rules-based system that has governed global trade for decades is under threat.

Carrie Lam said any erosion of traditional rules could lead to rising political tensions.

Worries over the future of the rules governing global trade have been stoked over the past couple of years, particularly since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. His administration has taken umbrage against China and the two countries have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of traded goods, igniting a trade war that could seriously hobble the global economy.

Merkel, meanwhile, was to address the gathering amid growing uncertainty in Europe over Brexit after British lawmakers last week voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's deal with the European Union. Since then, speculation has risen that Britain could crash out of the bloc without a deal or that end up extending its date of departure from the current March 29. (VOA)

BERN, LELEMUKU.COM - The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for world economic growth this year, citing heightened trade tensions and rising U.S. interest rates.

The IMF said Monday that it expects global growth this year of 3.5 percent, down from 3.7 percent in 2018 and from the 3.7 percent it had forecast for 2019 back in October.

"After two years of solid expansion, the world economy is growing more slowly than expected and risks are rising,'' said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde as she presented the new forecasts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The fund left its prediction for U.S. growth this year unchanged at 2.5 percent— though a continuation of the partial 31-day shutdown of the federal government poses a risk. The IMF trimmed the outlook for the 19 countries that use the euro currency to 1.6 percent from 1.8 percent.

Growth in emerging-market countries is forecast to slow to 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent in 2018. The IMF expects the Chinese economy— the world's second biggest— to grow 6.2 percent this year, down from 6.6 percent in 2018 and slowest since 1990.

The World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have also downgraded their world growth forecasts.

Britain's messy divorce from the European Union and Italy's ongoing financial struggles pose threats to growth in Europe.

And rising trade tensions pose a major risk to the wider world economy. Under President Donald Trump the United States has imposed import taxes on steel, aluminum and hundreds of Chinese products, drawing retaliation from China and other U.S. trading partners.

"Higher trade uncertainty will further dampen investment and disrupt global supply chains," said IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath.

Rising interest rates in the U.S. and elsewhere are also pinching emerging-market governments and companies that borrowed heavily when rates were ultra-low in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 Great Recession.

As the debts roll over, those borrowers have to refinance at higher rates. A rising dollar is also making things harder for emerging-market borrowers who took out loans denominated in the U.S. currency. (VOA)

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The founder of the World Economic Forum says U.S. President Donald Trump would have been an "interesting discussion partner" at its annual Davos event starting this week, but acknowledges that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans.

Klaus Schwab says he saw Trump shortly before Christmas and heard he had been "very much looking forward to coming back." Last year, Trump was a highlight attendee at the elite gathering in the Swiss Alps, where he dined with business executives and met foreign leaders.

Trump canceled the U.S. delegation's trip to Davos this year amid the partial government shutdown.

"He would have been an interesting discussion partner," Schwab said. "But of course, we have understanding: We see government stand still."

Now, the WEF chief is focusing on reshaping the "global architecture" that has split populists and globalists and left many people feeling left out. That could be a tall order as trade forecasts predict slowdown and economic growth has eased, in part after Trump tax cuts doped-up the economy and markets last year.

"I'm concerned because we are walking on very thin ice," Schwab said in an interview at the Davos conference center. "We are the back-end of a very strong, long positive economic cycle - maybe boosted by tax relief in the United States."

Schwab, who believes the world is going through a "Fourth Industrial Revolution" involving rapid technological change, says too many are being left behind. He wants to see more "equilibrium" between national or individual needs and imperatives facing the world.

"We are living in an interdependent, global humanity and there are global challenges like the environment, like terrorism, like mega-migration for which we have to find common solutions," he said.

The forum released Sunday a poll in which more than three-fourths of respondents said it was "important" or "very important" for countries to work together toward a common goal - a feeling that was strongest in places like South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. Smaller majorities in Europe and North America felt the same way.

The poll of more than 10,000 people across 29 countries, considered to be a representative sample of various economic levels and continents, was conducted through online from Jan. 4-17.

WEF said the survey results pointed to a "rejection of populism."

But Schwab said leaders need to do a better job of addressing people's problems.

"We have really a gap in terms of shaping the future," he said. "So, it's not astonishing that people lose hope because if you don't know how your future looks particularly at times of rapid change, then you become really egocentric, you revert to a bunker mentality - and that's reflected not only on the political and national level." (VOA)

BERN, LELEMUKU.COM - Heads of U.N. and international aid agencies will use the World Economic Forum’s influential platform to present humanitarian and human rights issues on behalf of millions of people caught in conflict, poverty and natural disasters. The Forum begins its annual weeklong meeting in the plush Swiss Alpine resort of Davos on Monday.

The World Economic Forum is best known for the many high-powered government and business leaders who make the annual pilgrimage to Davos to acquire lucrative deals and shape geopolitical events.

But the annual event also presents a robust humanitarian agenda. This year, the Forum, World Bank and International Committee of the Red Cross will launch a Humanitarian Investing Initiative. The aim is to seek new solutions for protracted humanitarian crises by moving from short-term to long-term funding to support fragile communities.

United Nations aid agencies will feature prominently during the week-long meeting. The World Food Program’s executive director, David Beasley, will co-host events, such as 'conflict and hunger' and 'the use of digital technology in the humanitarian sector.'

WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel says the group will be seeking support for its operations. He says many of the companies attending Davos understand that investments in food security are fundamental to business success.

“It saves lives and builds stronger markets around the world. In fact, it can increase GDPs by up to 16.5 percent and a person’s lifetime earnings by 46 percent,” he said.

With more than 3,000 of the world’s movers and shakers from 110 countries present, aid agencies see the Forum as a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships with world leaders and keep their life-saving missions on the world’s agenda.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet will be attending events on a wide range of topics. Her spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, says these include LGBTI or Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Intersex standards in businesses, and human rights and democracy in a changing world.

“A couple of events on women’s rights as human rights and female leadership. The importance of women playing a role in global affairs by creating a new architecture that allows them to fully participate as leaders and shapers,” she said.

The head of the U.N. Children’s Fund, Henrietta Fore will champion the needs of children and young people who are caught up in humanitarian crises or are being left behind because of extreme poverty and lack of development.

U.N. Development Program Administrator, Achim Steiner will seek to raise $100 million from Davos’ wealthy clientele to protect wild animals and their habitats. (VOA)