Top banker pleads with US

– China’s central bank governor yesterday sought to cool the temperature on a brewing trade and currency war with the United States, calling for “constructive solutions” as the spat threatens to knock the world economy.

Speaking on the last day of the IMFWorld Bank annual meetings in Bali, Yi Gang warned that the stakes could hardly be higher and cautioned that a clash between the world’s two biggest economies was a “lose-lose” situation.

“Trade tensions...cause negative expectations, negative uncertainties,” the People’s Bank of China head told a seminar with other top central bankers on the Indonesian holiday island.

“There are tremendous uncertainties ahead of us.

“The whole world should work together to seek constructive solutions,” he added.

Yi said he had spoken to central bank governors and other top officials from a string of nations amid a tit-for-tat US-China tariff battle and Washington’s accusations that China was unfairly pushing down the value of its yuan currency to boost exports.

China’s top central banker vowed Beijing would do its part by getting tougher on domestic copyright violators and opening up the financial services sector.

His comments come a day after the IMF warned that the “window of opportunity” to keep global growth on track was narrowing as the US-China spat threatens to boil over and emerging markets feel the pinch from higher US interest rates. – AFP