CHARMAIN NAIDOO: Welcome to the great disruption
'Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room. Wind and rain may be kept outside, but so are light and air'
The world is changing before our very eyes... I watched this week how delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos (mainly white, mainly men) appeared to trash newly inaugurated American President Donald Trump on the one hand, and predict a better economic forecast for the world because of him on the other. Expediency seems to be the new currency. It was particularly poignant that I was lying on my Hong Kong Hotel bed watching Channel News Asia – watching the world shift on its axis – as Chinese president Xi Jinping talked about the global economy. It was the first visit by China to this forum frequented by mainly western political and business bigwigs to drink champagne, attend “high net worth only” dinners, network and make plans to change the world. Here, on this stage of influence was Xi, preaching about the need for globalisation, criticising Trump and his talk of protectionism.
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