G20 finance leaders warn of risks for growth from 'intensified' international tensions
A summit stops short of calling for a settlement of the deepening US-China trade war in the face of pressure by Washington.
Sunday 9 June 2019 15:45, UK
Finance chiefs from the world's largest economies have warned "intensified" international tensions are putting at risk global growth.
However, they stopped short of calling for a settlement of the deepening US-China trade war in the face of pressure by Washington.
The joint statement issued by G20 finance leaders at the end of a summit in Japan was watered down at the insistence of the US, in an indication that the White House wants to avoid any barriers to hiking tariffs against Beijing.
After tough talks that threatened the issuing of a communique, the group said: "Global growth appears to be stabilising and is generally projected to pick up moderately later this year and into 2020.
"However, growth remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside. Most importantly, trade and geopolitical tensions have intensified.
"We will continue to address these risks and stand ready to take further action."
However, it dropped a proposed line to "recognise the pressing need to resolve trade tensions".
It also made no direct admission that the US-China trade conflict was hurting global growth.
This was despite a warning by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that, while growth is still expected to improve this year and next, the continuing stalemate between Washington and Beijing could cut 0.5% from global economic output in 2020 - about the size of the economy of G20 member South Africa.
:: US-China trade war - How did it start and what does it all mean?
US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he had a constructive meeting with China's central bank governor Yi Gang on the sidelines of the meeting in the southern city of Fukuoka.
In a Twitter post that showed the two shaking hands, he said they "had a candid discussion on trade issues".
However, the talks stalled after 11 rounds of negotiations and both sides are threatening further action, adding to uncertainty and unnerving financial markets.
Mr Mnuchin said any major progress in breaking the deadlock would likely come at a meeting of presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in late June in Osaka.
Mr Trump has yet to decide, he said, on whether to impose more tariffs on Chinese exports.
Last week, Beijing said it will soon release a list of "unreliable" foreign companies in a move seen as a response to the US decision to blacklist the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
In a separate development, the G20 joint statement also said finance leaders had agreed to draw up common rules by 2020 to close loopholes used by global tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google to reduce their corporate taxes.
At the meeting in Japan, Chancellor Philip Hammond had called for concerted international action to ensure the firms pay their "fair share" of tax.