Merkel sounds conciliatory tone on trade before G20 summit

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that global trade was not a zero-sum game and that she would seek to establish a rules-based commerce system that benefits all, striking a compromising tone before a G20 summit next week.

Merkel, who will host leaders of the G20 leading economies next week at a Hamburg summit where trade is expected to be one of the most divisive issues, added that Germany's large trade surplus was partly the result of factors beyond her influence: the ECB's expansive monetary policy and energy prices.

"My vision of globalisation is that in the global and interconnected world we need a rules-based trade system where all sides can win," Merkel said. "There is also an understanding of globalisation that there are winners and losers as if it is a zero-sum game and I don't believe in this."

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Thomas Escritt)