The U.S. must not lose its connection with the world, the head of Swiss chemicals giant, Syngenta, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday.
"The U.S. needs to make sure that the country stays very engaged in the global scene," asserted Erik Fyrwald, chief executive officer (CEO) of Syngenta.
"Global trade is the engine of the global economy and it needs to continue to develop and grow so that the U.S. and the rest of the world can continue to grow," he continued.
Responding to questions regarding the commitment of the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump to the role of the U.S. in a globalized world, Fyrwald pointed to supportive elements among Trump's closest advisers.
"Donald Trump has named some outstanding people to his cabinet that feel the same way," he noted.
The CEO said his company's pending $43 billion tie-up with Chinese state-owned peer ChemChina would play an important role in connecting their respective home regions.
"Our deal is very helpful in bridging the West with China," Fyrwald claimed, emphasizing that this will be a very pivotal year for the communist country.
Since the announcement of the tie-up, the Chinese government has banned external mergers and acquisitions above $10 billion, however, Syngenta's CEO says that this measure which will not have retrospective application will have no impact on his company's merger.
"The deal we are about to do is very strategic to China and everything we hear from China is very much reinforcing that the deal will get done and has the full support of ChemChina and the Chinese government."
Although the deal is still winging its way through the regulators' corridors - with the latter's focus sharply stepped up since peers Bayer and Monsanto announced their intention to merge last September – Fyrwald told CNBC he is "very confident" that the deal will get done and that he expects that to happen in the "not too distant future".
