China's Xi warns protectionism 'dealing severe blow' to trade

China's President Xi Jinping today warned that growing protectionism was damaging trade and that the world had to choose "between cooperation and confrontation" as the threat of a US-led trade war looms.

"Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting, dealing a severe blow to multilateralism and the multilateral trading regime," Xi told the opening of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

"We are facing a choice between cooperation and confrontation.