At times this week it feels as if the world has been tipped on its head. Maybe that’s how it is when we are at a political inflexion point. How else are we to make sense of the Premier of China making the case for greater global trade while the President Elect of the United States threatens more tariffs on imports?

The retreat of the West from globalisation is one of the big themes of this year’s Davos, even if it has fallen to Xi Jinping to call for more liberalisation. Joe Biden, the outgoing US Vice President was on blistering form as he spelt out the risks of a more inward-looking America.