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G-20 Finance ministers pledge to boost global economy

Following an unprecedented round-table meeting, the group of also called for better worldwide coordination on economic policy amid a gloomy global outlook, lacklustre growth from unconventional monetary policy easing, and rising trade protectionism.

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The two were speaking during the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Chengdu, China on Saturday.

The draft communique, anticipated to be released at the end of the conference on Sunday afternoon, stated Brexit added to uncertainty in the global economy however G20 members were “well placed to proactively attend to the possible economic and financial effects”.

Philip Hammond, the U.K.’s chancellor of the exchequer, said the issue came up repeatedly during the G20 summit, which has now ended.

Following the meeting in Chengdu, the G20 insisted it had the tools to cope with the potential economic and financial consequences from the referendum result.

GLOBAL CONCERN: European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, centre, gestures as US Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen, left, and US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pose for a photo ahead of a Group of Seven meeting in May.

Other factors listed by the G20 as complications to the world economy include geopolitical conflicts, terrorism and refugee flows.

“A highly integrated relationship between the UK and the European Union is in the best interests of Europe, the United States and the global economy”, he told reporters after the meeting.

A growing backlash against globalization has finance leaders from the world’s leading economies vowing to spread the benefits of global economic growth more broadly.

The IMF recently lowered its forecasts for global growth this year and next by 0.1 percentage point, to 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent respectively.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of leading world economies in Chengdu, China, Philip Hammond told Sky that the vote to leave the European Union was “not the only shadow the world economy faces”.

Last week a German-Iranian gunman – believed not to be connected to the Islamic State group but “obsessed” with mass killers – shot dead nine people in the German city of Munich before killing himself.

To foster confidence, monetary policies will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, but monetary tools alone can not lead to balanced growth, state-run Xinhua quoted the communique as saying.

Taxation should be in place in new emerging industries, including e-commerce, the digital economy and digital finance to better ensure taxation fairness, according to Lou Jiwei, China’s finance minister. A US official indicated earlier that the depreciation of China’s yuan to five-and-a-half year lows, and the Chinese central bank’s reaction, were understandable and “consistent to a transition to a market-oriented exchange rate”.

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Officials said the Turkish delegation had demanded an explicit statement of support for Erdoğan’s government, but some other representatives had demurred. “G20 countries should increase policy communication and coordination, form policy consensus and guide market expectations, making monetary policy more forward-looking and transparent and increase the effectiveness of fiscal policy”, Lou said.

Hammond plans to allay Brexit fears at G-20 meeting