Rising protectionism in the United States and other countries could possibly hurt global economy, William Rhodes, senior vice chairman of the Citigroup Inc, warned on Thursday.

"When I'm talking about protectionism, it's not just in the United States, but also in other places in the world," Rhodes told a plenary session at the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions which kicked off on Thursday in the northeastern Chinese port city Dalian.

Mounting protectionism could make it harder for countries to reach an agreement on the long-stalled global trade talks, he said.

"Protectionism could also hurt the Doha round of trade talks," he added.

His concerns about rising protectionism were echoed by other participants in the meeting.

"I'm increasingly worried about protectionism in the United States when we move on to the political silly season," said Kristin Forbes, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, referring to the upcoming U.S. presidential election, a time when politicians usually use protectionist campaign slogans to woo voters.

American people should not forget the benefits of free trade and globalization, she added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2007)