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Tag: Davos – World Economic Forum

  • World must abandon Cold War mentality, China’s vice premier tells Davos

    World must abandon Cold War mentality, China’s vice premier tells Davos

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    In a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Liu repeatedly called on countries to improve diplomatic ties, “to “firmly safeguard world peace.”

    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    China’s Vice Premier Liu He said Tuesday that the world needs to abandon its Cold War mentality and seek to strengthen international cooperation.

    In a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Liu repeatedly called on countries to improve diplomatic ties, “to “firmly safeguard world peace.”

    “We have to abandon the Cold War mentality, try to understand the essence of things from the perspective of material duality, endeavor to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and join hands to respond to global challenges,” Liu said, according to a translation. “We believe that an equitable international economic order must be preserved by all of us.”

    Referencing the WEF “Cooperation in a Fragmented World” theme of this year, Liu said it was imperative for China to open up to the world. He added that Beijing opposed unilateralism and protectionism.

    China, which has been sharply criticized for not condemning Russia’s nearly year-long war with Ukraine, recently pledged to uphold its “objective and clear stance” on the conflict.

    Liu pushed for a global response to the climate crisis and called for more attention on the potential spillover risks to emerging markets, as major central banks hike interest rates.

    He separately described China’s Covid situation as “steady.” Beijing abruptly ended most Covid controls in early December, leading to a surge in infections among the 1.4 billion population.

    China is taking steps toward outreach. Earlier on Tuesday, China’s commerce ministry said the country’s vice premier would soon meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Switzerland. The sit-down, which is set to take place in Zurich on Wednesday, will mark the first face-to-face meeting between Liu and Yellen. The two will discuss how to “strengthen macroeconomic and financial policy coordination,” the ministry said.

    Late last year, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled a desire to improve bilateral ties. The rapprochement between the world’s two largest economies comes despite simmering tensions over issues such as Taiwan, trade policy and human rights.

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  • IMF chief: Growth will bottom out in 2023 and bounce back next year

    IMF chief: Growth will bottom out in 2023 and bounce back next year

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    Managing Director of International Monetary Fund IMF Kristalina Georgieva attends a session during the World Economic Forum WEF 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, May 25, 2022.

    Zheng Huansong | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

    The International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told CNBC Tuesday that the days of her institution giving regular global growth downgrades are nearly over.

    “I don’t see a downgrade now, but growth in 2023 will slow down,” Georgieva said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    “Our projection is that we will go by half a percentage point down vis-a-vis 2022. The good news though is that we expect growth to bottom out this year and 2024 to be a year in which we finally see the world economy on an upside,” Georgieva said.

    The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its growth forecast three times since October 2021.

    The managing director’s comments come the day after the IMF released a new report saying fragmentation could cost the global economy up to 7% of GDP.

    This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more.

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  • China’s reopening will boost Hong Kong markets despite weak GDP print, HKEX chairman says

    China’s reopening will boost Hong Kong markets despite weak GDP print, HKEX chairman says

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    Chinese and Hong Kong flags flutter as screens display the Hang Seng Index outside the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), on January 21, 2021 in Hong Kong, China.

    China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

    Hong Kong markets are set to benefit from the reopening of the Chinese economy, despite Beijing’s disappointing annual GDP growth rate in 2022, according to HKEX Chairman Laura Cha.

    The Chinese GDP grew by 3% last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, slightly surpassing the expectations of a Reuters poll but sitting well below the official target of around 5.5%. Fourth-quarter year-on-year GDP growth was 2.9%.

    With the exception of the initial onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tuesday’s full-year figure marked one of China’s weakest GDP prints for almost a half century, as the government’s strict “zero-Covid” containment measures weighed on activity.

    Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses in Asian stock markets on Tuesday following the release, but Cha told CNBC that the reopening of China’s borders at the very end of 2022 will result in a strong rebound.

    “I think China, as the border opens up, the economy will grow back. There is a pent up demand there, there is a necessity, and, as China opens up and the economy continues to grow, recovering from the last two or three years, Hong Kong will definitely benefit from that as well,” Cha said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Cha said trading and capital inflows had been limited for the last three years while China’s border was closed, but that the exchange provider had seen the beginnings of a “turning around” in the second half of 2022.

    She added that the value of IPO listings with HKEX in the second half of the year was four times the amount raised over the first-half period, and that “the number of listed companies doubled that of the first half.”

    “We are seeing a turning around and as China – China just opened up not that long ago – but as it opens up, we would anticipate much more capital flow, therefore stimulating financial activities,” Cha said.

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  • OECD chief says China’s reopening ‘overwhelmingly positive’ to help tackle global inflation crisis

    OECD chief says China’s reopening ‘overwhelmingly positive’ to help tackle global inflation crisis

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    OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann on Monday said China’s reopening is “overwhelmingly positive” in the global fight to tackle surging inflation.

    “We certainly very much welcome the easing of Covid related restrictions in China,” Cormann told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    “Over the short term, it will come with challenges and we’re seeing heightened levels of infection which are likely to have some short-term impacts,” he added.

    “But over the medium to longer term, this is a very much a positive in terms of making sure that the supply chains function more efficiently and more effectively, making sure that demand in China and indeed trade more generally resumes in a more positive pattern.”

    China abruptly ended most Covid controls in early December, leading to a surge in infections among the population of 1.4 billion.

    Beijing reported on Saturday that almost 60,000 people with Covid had died in hospital since the country dropped its strict Covid restrictions last month, a sharp increase from previous figures.

    China’s reopening, alongside a flurry of positive data surprises, has been cited by economists in recent weeks as a reason to upgrade their previously gloomy forecasts.

    “One of the drivers of inflation was very much the supply shock related to global supply not being able to keep up with global demand … as swiftly as was required,” Cormann said.

    “And so, China coming back into the global market in earnest and supply chains functioning more efficiently will help bring inflation down. Clearly, this is overwhelmingly positive.”

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