The leaders of U.S. and China will hold back from allowing their trade dispute to spark a recession, according to former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview in Tokyo, Trichet said that while some in financial markets are assuming the worst for the global economy, he does not share that view. Instead he hopes “that those who are in charge are not bizarre enough in their behavior to create such a catastrophe,” he said.

“It’s absolutely clear that if we have a drama in the trade relationship between the U.S. and China, we will have a negative sum game of first magnitude at the level of the U.S., at the level of China, at the level of the entire global economy. I would not bet on such a stupid behavior coming from those who are in charge.”