Coronavirus: nations must work together to support global economy, ex-PBOC chief says
- International community must be vigilant to ‘risks of inward looking, unstable global supply chains and escalating trade frictions’, Zhou Xiaochuan says
- In difficult times, ‘mutual understanding and help between countries … are imperative to bring together wisdom and find solutions’, he says
“The international community should be vigilant to the risks of inward looking in some countries, unstable global supply chains and escalating trade frictions,” Zhou Xiaochuan told an online symposium organised by the Boao Forum for Asia on Friday.
While Zhou, who stepped down as governor of the People’s Bank of China in 2018, did not identify any countries by name, his comments came amid growing criticism of China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by the US.
“The destinies of all countries are bound together,” Zhou said. “During the hard times, mutual understanding and help from each other, between countries and across regions are imperative to bring together wisdom and find solutions.”
The former central banker currently serves as deputy chairman of the Chinese equivalent to the Davos Forum. Friday’s online symposium was attended mostly by former Asian leaders, as well as the European Union’s ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis.
China, meanwhile, would see just a 1.2 per cent rise in its gross domestic product in 2020, while the US economy was set to fall by 5.9 per cent, the IMF said.
Zhou said that during the current lockdowns, the top priorities were maintaining basic social security and mitigating the debt burden. Once the health crisis had been overcome, economic activity could begin again, just like pressing the start button on a music player.
The country’s biggest concern now is dwindling exports, which have been hit by the disruption in Western markets caused by the coronavirus, and face the long-term impact of a possible trade disengagement with the US.
A report published by the Boao Forum on Friday identified the health crisis and US trade protectionism as the primary short-term headwinds for Asian economies, which as a wholeare expected to see zero growth this year.
“The whole world should join hands to control the pandemic … and in the meantime reduce tariffs, trade barriers and stabilise global supply chains to help the economy recover and avoid recession,” it said.
“This is an important sign of China’s determination to stick to market-oriented reforms and a greater level of market opening,” he said.
“It is significant in helping to mitigate the pandemic shocks, and promote the recovery of the regional and global economy.”