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Bloomberg's chief economist on Friday warned of the trade war’s impact on the global economy, speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 New Economy Forum (NEF). He said that the China-US trade war has had a significant negative impact on global economic growth, and urged the signature of a Phase-One deal which could remove some of the pressure weighing on global growth.

"In the first quarter of 2018, [Bloomberg Economics] data told us the global economy was expanding [at about] 4.8 percent," said Tom Orlik, chief economist at Bloomberg.

While the world economy was expanding just 2.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, Orlik said, "The pace of the global growth has halved and a big reason for that is the trade war."

A Phase-One deal in the China-US trade talks is expected to be reached to help release some of the pressure on global growth, including the economic growth of China and the US, he noted.

Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said at a regular press briefing on Thursday that Chinese and US trade negotiators will continue to maintain close communications.

"China is willing to make joint efforts with the US based on equality and mutual respect, to properly resolve each other's core concerns in an effort to achieve a Phase-One trade deal," Gao said.

Orlik presented calculations concerning the impact of different trade-war scenarios on growth.

If a Phase-One deal could be reached and tariffs are rolled back to 25 percent on $50 billion worth of goods in bilateral trade, then the US and China would both benefit significantly.

Global Times