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After talks with Chinese leaders on Europe's
worsening debt crisis:
Lagarde calls for 'political clarity' in Greece, Italy
CHINA: The head of the International Monetary Fund called yesterday
for greater "political clarity" in Greece and Italy, after talks with
Chinese leaders dominated by Europe's worsening debt crisis.
Lagarde, who is on a two-day visit to China, also said emerging
economies had a role to play in resolving the debt woes threatening the
global economy, calling on them to allow their currencies to appreciate.
''Emerging markets, and large emerging markets in particular, have a
role to play either by reengineering their growth model or by letting
their currencies appreciate appropriately," Lagarde told journalists in
Beijing.
Asian stock markets slumped on Thursday after Wall Street suffered a
pummelling, as Italy became the latest European country to suffer a huge
surge in borrowing costs.
''Political clarity is conducive to more stability, and my objective
is better and more stability," said Lagarde, referring to the political
dramas that have engulfed the governments of Greece and Italy.
The IMF chief will hold talks later Thursday with China's Premier Wen
Jiabao against a backdrop of worsening economic turmoil in Europe that
has rattled financial markets around the world. She also met with the
head of China's central bank on Wednesday, weeks after the chief of the
European bailout fund travelled to Beijing to try to persuade China's
leaders to contribute. Lagarde's visit to China comes amid mounting
concerns over the debt crisis facing the eurozone.
On Wednesday, she warned that Asian economies were not immune to the
crisis, saying the world risked a "downward spiral" if it did not pull
together to tackle the problem.
China has the world's largest foreign exchange reserves at $3.2
trillion, but has so far made no firm commitment to provide financial
assistance for the eurozone.
Europe has been discussing establishing a special purpose investment
vehicle to persuade China and other potential contributors to sign up,
and is exploring the possibility of linking it to the IMF. AFP |
