Financial markets need more clarity on how the Chinese authorities are managing their currency, particularly the relationship of the yuan to the US dollar, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Saturday.
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She said she would seek a fresh mandate for her leadership as she continues to reform the institution and help steer the global economy through anxious times.
“I’ve had the honor of receiving support since the opening of the [IMF’s nomination] procedure”, she said in the interview with French TV.
The French former finance minister has been the IMF’s managing director since July 2011.
But her victory came amid criticism that the IMF’s top job should not be locked down by a European, as it has since the institution was created in 1944.
“They said, ‘Because youre a woman.'” “And I just left…”, she said.
France and Germany added their support despite calls for the International Monetary Fund to be led by someone from the developing world. While she is still the front-runner and analysts said the case was unlikely to derail her reappointment, the prospect of a politically charged trial in her home country could still complicate her future at the International Monetary Fund.
So far, Lagarde appears uncontested, with no challenger having thrown their hat in the ring. “I hope the courts… will agree with that”, she told France 2 yesterday.
The IMF on Tuesday lowered its forecast for the country’s growth in 2016 0.2 points to 1.3 per cent.
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A tough negotiator and determined consensus-builder, Lagarde did not hesitate to cross swords with the very officials she worked closely with in her previous job, even criticizing her successor as finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, of being asleep during one crisis meeting. He said China has no option but to support growth this year, using its large financial reserves if needed. (S)he will also be an effective communicator among other requirements. “India is growing fast at over 7 per cent, China has slowed down, Russian Federation and Brazil are going to be negative territory for different reasons”, she said.
