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Lagarde Seals Updated ECB–PBOC Pact in Beijing, Warns Protectionism Risks Global Downturn
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4 days ago
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, visiting Beijing this week, warned that "coercive" or protectionist trade measures could destabilise supply chains and push the global economy toward a new downturn. “There is no longer-term advantage to being a bully on trade,” she told an audience that included senior Chinese officials, urging all sides to make concessions to defuse tariff tensions that have already erased billions of dollars in market value. During the trip, Lagarde and People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding that renews and expands a 2008 pact. The agreement introduces new channels for data-policy cooperation and formalises an annual meeting mechanism between the two central-bank governors. Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing is willing to strengthen collaboration with the ECB on reforming the international monetary system, underscoring efforts by both sides to keep financial links open despite rising geopolitical frictions. Back in Frankfurt, other ECB policymakers signalled that the current easing cycle may be drawing to a close. Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus said interest rates have reached a “neutral” level and should be paused, while Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel noted that headline inflation is on course to return to the 2% target and that further cuts are unlikely. The ECB’s wage tracker, meanwhile, points to negotiated pay growth of about 3.1% this year, its slowest pace in several years, reinforcing expectations that price pressures will moderate. Vice-President Luis de Guindos added that the institution’s main concern is shifting from inflation to slowing growth, even as he predicted the euro’s global role could expand gradually.
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