European Council President Donald Tusk said in Beijing on Monday that a reform of the World Trade Organization is necessary in order to avoid a trade war. Speaking at a summit between the European Union and China, he asked Beijing, as well as the presidents of the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, who are meeting later in the day, to work together on the issue.
"I am calling on our Chinese hosts, but also on presidents Trump and Putin, to jointly start this process from a thorough reform of the WTO," Tusk said. "There is still time to prevent conflict and chaos," he added. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (pictured right) backed Tusk's stance, noting the WTO's rules need to be updated.
Earlier, the US called for a reform of the WTO and, according to some reports, even threatened to pull out of the organization unless it changes its rules. US officials denied reports about withdrawal plans.
