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Asia-Pacific finance ministers fret over US-China spat
SYDNEY, Oct 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The trade spat between the world’s two
largest economies — China and the United States — is imperilling the entire
Asia-Pacific, regional finance ministers have warned.
In a statement, finance ministers meeting in Port Moresby said risks to
the global economy had increased thanks to “heightened trade and geopolitical
tensions”, a veiled reference to the tit-for-tat trade dispute between
Washington and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump has announced billions of dollars’ worth of
additional tariffs on Chinese goods, claiming the country is systematically
cheating on globally agreed trade rules.
Beijing has announced retaliatory measures, as it seeks to protect growth
that is vital to the country’s rising political clout.
The result has been a sharp sell-off on equity markets and mutterings of
concern from central banks across the globe.
Following Wednesday’s finance minister’s meeting, host and Papua New
Guinea treasurer Charles Abel warned “protectionist trends stemming from
trade tensions and the buildup of debt are troubling and a real threat to
development and prosperity right around the APEC region”.
APEC leaders will gather in Papua New Guinea next month to try and sort
through the dispute.
A lengthy statement from the bloc’s finance ministers late Wednesday did
not bode well for agreement.
The document amounted to a wish list of competing interests among member
states, sounding the alarm about “high and growing debt levels” while arguing
“fiscal policy should be flexible and growth-friendly”.
Amid concerns that the Trump administration was pursuing a strong dollar
policy and persistent suspicions that China is similarly manipulating
currency exchange rates to gain a competitive edge, the group did say it
would “refrain from competitive devaluation and will not target our exchange
rates for competitive purposes”.
BSS/AFP/HR/0920