President William Ruto has pressed for the urgent need to fashion a new world order amid growing global tariffs.

Speaking during a public lecture at Peking University in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Ruto said that the ongoing trade tariff wars could signal the end of the old world order as it has existed since the end of World War II.

“We must confront a sobering truth: the post-war multilateral system is broken, dysfunctional and no longer fit for purpose, and the escalating trade tariff war may be its final death blow,” Ruto said.

The head of state further pointed out that the financial and security architecture that arose out of the ashes of World War II has largely benefitted the Global South to the exclusion of everyone else, a system that he says is no longer tenable.

“It is my view that the security architecture of the world as it is today should be representative of the five continental blocks, that is, the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa/Middle East, with equal representation for each of the regions. Seeing as Europe already has three members – France, the UK and Russia – it seems reasonable that the membership for each region be set at three, for a total of 12 permanent members,” he said.

“For the first 45 years of its existence, the post-war multilateral system was shaped by the bipolar ideological divide of the Cold War. This divide, the East-West divide, suggests that we are unable to overcome the bipolarism of that era. Seemingly, there appear to be Cold War warriors who are unable to see a world that is not ideologically polarised and are determined to reinvent a polarised world by other means. In a world where globalisation is no longer an option but an existential imperative, any polarisation is unnecessary, undesirable and untenable.”

Ruto’s appeal to China

Taking to his official X account after his public lecture, Ruto noted that he had also called for Kenya and China to continue championing the cause of the Global South in international fora.

“The ongoing trade tariff wars could signal the end of the old world order as it has existed since the end of World War II. The financial and security architecture that arose out of the ashes of that conflict has largely benefitted the Global South to the exclusion of everyone else. That system is no longer tenable. During a public lecture at Peking University in Beijing; I pressed for the urgent need to fashion a new world order, which takes cognisance of present realities. Also called for Kenya and China to continue championing the cause of Global South in international fora, especially the need to reform global institutions to be more representative and efficient,” Ruto wrote on X.

The ongoing trade tariff wars could signal the end of the old world order as it has existed since the end of World War II.

The financial and security architecture that arose out of the ashes of that conflict has largely benefited the Global South to the exclusion of everyone… pic.twitter.com/A7s7MHfwcR

— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) April 23, 2025