Door open for US-China talks, says IMF chief
WASHINGTON: The gathering of world finance ministers began with heightened anxiety about the potential damage a United States-China trade war could do to the economic recovery but ended on Saturday with a door open to negotiations.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde, who has been urging countries to avoid damaging protectionism, said the weekend’s spring meeting had “made progress towards dialogue”.
And shortly after her comments, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was considering a trip to Beijing to hold talks on the trade dispute, a respite after weeks in which tensions had ratcheted ever higher.
China said yesterday it welcomed the suggestion of a visit.
“China has received the information that the US side wish to come in Beijing in order to conduct economic and trade consultations. China welcomes this,” said the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
Among 18 bilateral meetings with his counterparts last week, Mnuchin said he had met with Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China.
Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have cast a shadow over last week’s gathering of finance ministers, given concerns a trade war would undercut the global recovery.
President Donald Trump last month approved steep tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese imports, while Beijing has slapped duties on key US agricultural exports and has threatened to do likewise for the sensitive American soyabean industry.
The IMF said it was projecting global growth of 3.9 per cent this year and next, but warned that the risks were tilted to the downside.