Recently, China Youth Daily interviewed heads of youth organizations and young leaders from different countries on hot issues in the field of global governance, listening to their voices on global governance, globalization and the prospect of economic development. The author of this article is Ingo Weiss, treasurer of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Central Bureau and Executive Committee Member.
What is the biggest challenge of globalization and its underlying cause? Well that is not easy to answer. I would say there are benefits as well as challenges concerning globalization. Let me start with the benefits: Improved living standards, increased creativity and innovation, lowered costs for goods and services and easy access to foreign culture are some of the benefits, if globalization is done in the “right” way. Challenges could be ethical business practices, organizational structure, public relations, leadership or legal and regulatory structure, infrastructure and technology. Just to sum it up very roughly.
What kind of principle we need to adhere to when dealing with this challenge?In answering the next questions, I would like to isolate myself from looking at the term globalization purely scientifically. For me personally, globalization means traveling freely around the world, hassle-free meetings of people in all continents and exchanges with them, trying to tackle and solve problems together, not taking advantage from better situations and positions but being fair with all partners. Of course, I explicitly include "my" area, sports.
In these recent years, the free trade has been challenged and there are more and more economic uncertainties appearing in different coutries. This is a very important issue, because it ultimately affects each and every one of us. Because conflicts with the world's leading "players", whether they are nations or corporations, always have a great influence up to the individual persons. For example, that goods become unnecessarily expensive or can no longer be obtained.
Conflicts in global trade and globalization are perceived by everyone, including in Germany. Naturally the impact here is much weaker at first than in other regions, but it is also noticeable in Germany (for example, gasoline prices, travel restrictions, etc.). It is therefore important that we are always attentive and consider and treat these important issues with care. Therefore, if I am allowed to refer to sport again, it is so important, for example, to cultivate exchange programs at different levels so that mutual understanding grows steadily.
It makes my prognosis easier again: the Chinese economy will be unstoppable on its way to the top of the world. In China there is so much manpower, but of course also the associated expertise and the competence that the economy will continue to develop positively. I very much hope that this "power" will be used positively. The (economically) strongest nations worldwide should use their strength to ensure a peaceful and ecologically sustainable coexistence and not just to think about their own interests. This applies to China as well as to the USA, Russia or the economically strong nations in Europe.
