GENEVA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Increased inward-looking policies and the rise of trade protectionism are weighing on the outlook of global seaborne trade, a United Nations report said Wednesday.

Even though the prospects for seaborne trade are positive, the emergence of inward-looking policies and protectionism could "reverse the trade liberalization" and cause risks for the sustained recovery of seaborne trade, the 2018 Review of Maritime Transport released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported.

Referring to the withdraw of the United States from a series of transnational trade agreements, the report said such policies could "produce significant setbacks for global economic and trade recovery and undermine the growth prospects of seaborne trade."

The report also said escalating trade frictions between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, as well as those between Canada, Mexico, the United States and the European Union may lead to a trade war that "could derail the recovery, reshape global maritime trade patterns, and dampen the outlook."

According to the report, China remains the trading nation best connected to others by sea in 2018, and various projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative have the potential to generate growth and boost seaborne trade volumes.

Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. Around 80 percent of global trade by volume and over 70 percent of global trade by value are carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide.?