Aso Claims World Economy Remains Firm; Lagarde Says Not Enough

October 12, 2018

Nusa Dua, Indonesia- Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has said the world economy remains firm, despite a global stock sell-off triggered by rising U.S. interest rates and concerns over Washington-Beijing trade tensions.

Aso, who doubles as deputy prime minister, made the remark as he spoke to reporters following a session of a two-day Group of 20 gathering that started on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Thursday evening.

Aso said he claimed during the first-day session that protectionism benefits no country and that trade friction should be addressed by multilateral, rather than bilateral, efforts.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a press conference earlier in the day that the global economy is "probably not (strong) enough."

The IMF earlier this month revised down its global growth projection while warning of the risk of capital outflows from emerging economies prompted by interest rate rises in advanced economies.

Ahead of the start of the G-20 meeting, Aso and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held talks on a wide range of issues in the global economy. Aso expressed hope that U.S. economic sanctions on Iran will not affect Japanese companies.

Mnuchin said on Twitter that he discussed with Aso the ongoing bilateral cooperation on economic issues. Jiji Press