“I want to clearly tell everyone that China’s open doors will not close, but will only open wider,” China’s President, Xi Jinping proclaimed to rousing applause from attendees at the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan province last Tuesday. The Boao Forum, which also goes by the sobriquet, “The Davos of Asia” was attended by foreign heads of governments and industry movers and shakers from the world over, mostly from the Asian region.

The mercantilist school of economic thought – which promoted tariffs and other protectionist elements – seems poised for a comeback under the administration of Donald Trump. The United States (US), once saw leaders like Ronald Reagan champion the values of free market economics as the world watched the Berlin Wall crumble to dust, marking the end of Soviet era communism.