(Bloomberg) -- Global leaders need to search for a non-aligned position in order to not compromise their commercial business, according to executives at the Bloomberg New Economy at B20 in Sao Paulo.
A non-aligned political position should be a proxy for the world’s leaders as keeping global trade and commerce is the most relevant topic for countries and companies, said Jon Huntsman Jr., vice chairman and president of strategic growth at Mastercard Inc.
“No market is big enough to carry out into the future without engaging with the rest of the world,” he said at a Navigating a Divided World panel. “In the meantime, Brazil is an enormously powerful country during a moment when national security is the lens through which people see trade.”
Ana Cabral, CEO of Sigma Lithium Corp., also defended a non-aligned position by global leaders. “You can’t just leave the table. Because once you leave the table, all hope is gone to finding the areas where you agree”, she said.
Brazil is right to talk to all nations and not align politically with any country, said Wesley Batista, one of the brothers who control Brazilian meat producer JBS SA.
“Brazil needs to be talking with China, with the US, with Russia, and try help to find solutions to finish this war, improve relationship between these countries,” Batista said. “Leaders need to talk even with countries they disagree with.”
The US-China relationship will undergird everything that we see play out in the next few years, including unilateralist and regionalist approaches, said Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China and Russia. “We’re likely to see regional groupings pop up” as countries act on self-interest, he said.
New Economy at B20 is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
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