CHINA’s top finance minister has warned that the global economy is in a dire state and indicated that an “unbalanced recovery” would be the best option, according to Reuter’s and other agencies.
The comment by Vice-Premier, Wang Qishan, the top official steering China’s financial and trade policy was made at talks between Chinese and US officials (11/20/2011) and marked Wang’s second grim warning on the world’s economy in the last week.
Before the talks, he said a “chronic” global recession was certain, and that China must focus on its own domestic problems.
“Global economic conditions remain grim, and ensuring economic recovery is the overriding priority,” Mr Wang said.
His comments also suggested that China should focus on bolstering its own growth before it concerned itself with global imbalances. This has been interpreted as meaning that a strong Chinese economy would be better for the world economy in the long term than an immediate slowdown within China itself.
“As major world economies, China and the United States would make a positive contribution to the world through their own steady development,” he told US officials.
The finance minister’s area of remit is smaller than his counterparts in many countries worldwide.
For example, macroeconomic management is handled mainly by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) while there are separate regulators for banking, insurance and securities.
Also, Mr Wang’s finance ministry does not handle regulation of interest rates or the money markets which are governed by the People’s Bank of China (PBC), China’s central bank. .
Meanwhile, three of China’s neighbor’s have issued depressing economic news. Singapore and Thailand have forecast their economies will shrink in the fourth quarter of this year with Japan posting a much bigger fall in October exports than expected.
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