China tells G20 meeting world economic growth insufficient

BEIJING – China’s finance minister told a G20 meeting that the current world economic growth momentum was insufficient, with tariff and trade wars further impacting economic and financial stability, according to a ministry readout on Friday.

Lan Foan called on all parties to further improve the international economic and financial system by strengthening multilateral cooperation.

China advocates the settlement of trade and tariff disputes through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing, he said in his speech at the meeting in Washington.

Lan also urged for better implementation of the debt treatment mechanism under the Common Framework, and said all parties should pool more resources for Africa’s development and strengthen Africa’s capacity-building.

Lan held bilateral meetings and exchanges with several representatives, including from South Africa, the European Commission, Pakistan, Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, Britain, Japan and World Bank,

The meetings were mainly to discuss views on the macroeconomic situation, key issues of the G20 fiscal channels and bilateral cooperation, the readout said.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam)