German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday warned that globalization fears should be taken seriously and called for a new global economic order based on fair trade and open dialogue with developing and emerging countries, according to Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. In the opening address of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, where she set out her agenda as both president of the G8 and the European Union, Merkel said she saw globalization as mainly "positive," though others remained "fearful." The global economic potential now rests on many more countries' shoulders than ten years ago, evidence of the unusually high and durable growth rates of the world economy, Merkel said. She said the international community had to work together to master the challenges posed by climate change and energy supply shortages and could not afford to be "inward looking." As president of the G8 group of industrial nations, she urged members to take responsibility and "devise a new form of dialogue," particularly with developing economies such as Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. "It is indispensable for global growth," she said, urging all parties to show "flexibility" to revive the Doha Round of trade talks at the World Trade Organization. "Global competition needs to be placed in a global framework" with politicians acting to reduce "acute global imbalances." As head of the European Union, she warned Europe against throwing up protective barriers to ward off competition from countries such as China. "I am firmly convinced in the process of globalization being one of liberalization," she said.
