Global economic growth prospects gloomy, commerce minister tells G20 trade leaders meeting
Gao Hucheng says cooperation is essential to avoiding global recession
The commerce minister yesterday issued a stern warning over the global economic outlook and urged governments to boost trade and investment as a way to shrug off gloomy sentiment.
As Gao Hucheng made his opening remarks at the Group of 20 trade ministers meeting in Shanghai, he carried a strong message that China was adamant in building a consensus among the economic powerhouses to improve trade and investment to avoid a global recession.
China will host the G20 summit in Hangzhou in September.
Global trade remains sluggish and investment has not recovered to levels before the global financial crisis.
“The revival and growth of the global economy is still lacklustre,” Gao said. “Global trade remains sluggish and investment has not recovered to levels before the global financial crisis.”
The G20 trade ministers, along with counterparts from other countries and officials from elite global organisations, had gathered to discuss a new mechanism to bolster trade and investment, with a World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade facilitation agreement highly expected to be signed by the end of this year.
The global economic outlook was also thrown into doubt by Britain’s exit from the European Union, which raised fears of financial market turmoil and weaker business activity.
While Gao did not mention the impact of Brexit in his speech, he stressed that the G20 meetings would offer a platform for leaders of the major economies to “address key issues and how to revitalise the global economy”.