【Wen / Observers Daily, Ruan Jiaqi】

Although once so angered by the Trump administration at Davos that he turned his back and left, the person in charge of the eurozone economy ultimately found it difficult to issue a "death notice" for the old world order.

According to Reuters on the 23rd, at the Davos Financial Leaders' meeting on Friday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said directly, "I don't completely agree with Mark's point of view."

Video screenshot of ECB President Christine Lagarde

What she referred to was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's striking speech at the forum a few days earlier (on the 20th). At that time, Carney bluntly stated that Canada and the world are now at a "turning point," an era where great powers compete and geopolitical tensions are unbridled.

He thus declared that the "old order based on rules has ended and will never return," and called on "middle powers" to unite to avoid becoming "a dish on the table of great powers."

American media noticed that Carney's strong words sparked rare standing applause from many global political and business leaders present.

However, Lagarde did not fully agree with this viewpoint. She admitted, "I am not sure whether we should talk about 'rupture' too easily. I think we should focus more on exploring alternatives." According to The Guardian, Lagarde also emphasized that she was not that pessimistic.

She further pointed out that space still exists for exploring alternatives, "We should be more proactive in identifying existing shortcomings, pain points, dependencies, and issues of autonomy."

Carney announces: The old order based on rules is gone forever, video screenshot

The report specifically mentioned that U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutenberg had previously made outrageous remarks at a Davos dinner, belittling Europe, claiming that Europe's economic competitiveness was far behind that of the United States, which caused several guests including Lagarde to leave early. However, at the meeting on Friday, Lagarde's attitude had become much more moderate.

Although she did not directly mention the dinner incident, she implied, "Over the past few days, we have heard a lot of criticism of Europe. But looking at it from another angle, these voices are not without value. We even should thank these critics because they make us fully aware that we must focus more and prepare all kinds of backup plans."

AP reported that Lagarde tried to downplay the impact of Carney's remarks. She added, "From an economic and business perspective, countries remain interdependent."

Meanwhile, two other participants in the same panel discussion expressed different views.

Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that even amid the "worst turmoil in 80 years," 72% of global trade activities still take place under the WTO's rule framework. But she also admitted, "I think we can't go back to the past anymore."

She also pointed out that uncertainty will continue for a long time, and countries must focus on enhancing their resilience to risks; however, the level of uncertainty may not remain as high as the recent peak caused by Trump's "island-buying theory." "The situation won't be that bad. Perhaps we can look forward to a relatively better and more stable situation in the future."

IMF Managing Director Georgieva also agreed that the situation has changed permanently.

She quoted a classic line from the movie "The Wizard of Oz," "How many of you have seen this film? ... 'We are not in Kansas anymore.'"

This line was spoken by the girl "Dorothy" after she was taken into a strange world in the film. As the film became a classic, it became one of the most famous lines in American cinema, implying "being in a foreign land" or "leaving a familiar environment." It later appeared in films such as "Avatar" and "The Matrix."

Georgieva used this line to point out the current state of "changing times." She also said that change has always been the norm and has been quietly happening for years. Now it's time to accept this trend of change, as various shocks will continue to come in the future.

She tried to comfort everyone, "Humanity has always engaged in trade, and will continue to do so in the future. Trade is like a river, like water. If you set obstacles in front of it, it will find another way. Yes, the situation has changed, but someone will always be needed to regulate global trade."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7598578580717404710/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.