G7 finance ministers have warned of “increased uncertainty” surrounding the global economy and the need to address regulatory gaps in the banking system following the recent financial sector turmoil.
“The global economy has shown resilience against multiple shocks,” the finance ministers of the world’s most advanced economies said in their final communique after a three-day ministerial meeting in Japan.
“However, amid uncertainty about the global economic outlook we need to remain vigilant and remain nimble and flexible in our macroeconomic policy.”
Finance ministers also noted the need to fill “data, supervisory and regulatory gaps” in the banking system that have come to light in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March and the turmoil following the failure of First Republic. In recent weeks.
The US And its G7 partners have made closing sanctions loopholes and combating theft their priorities in recent months, as more than a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s appetite for allowing new parts of the economy has waned.
Against that backdrop, the finance ministers also agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing on potential sanctions evasion and to monitor the effectiveness of price caps on Russian crude oil and petroleum products. “We are committed to countering any attempts to circumvent and undermine our sanction measures,” the communique said.
The G7 has committed to providing $44bn in economic assistance to Ukraine, enabling the IMF’s approval of a four-year lending program worth $15.6bn.
“It was a great achievement for us that the G7 was able to strengthen its unity instead of going separate ways to tackle major international challenges,” Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said at a news conference on Saturday.
Brussels is also discussing restrictions on EU exports to countries it suspects are re-exporting approved products to Russia, in an effort to prevent critical components from ending up on Ukrainian battlefields, according to people briefed on the discussions.
Ahead of the meeting of finance ministers, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for “coordinated action” by G7 nations against Beijing’s use of economic coercion but the 14-page document made no reference to economic security concerns related to China.
Yellen’s comments on China came ahead of the conference as Washington finalizes a new outbound investment-screening mechanism aimed at China.
A senior Japanese finance ministry official acknowledged that the issue of economic coercion was raised during the meeting, but declined to comment on the details and whether China was mentioned in those discussions.
Following Yellen’s remarks, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it was a “victim of US economic coercion”, citing sweeping export controls released by the US in October that would severely complicate efforts by Chinese companies to develop sophisticated technologies with military applications.
“If any country should be criticized for economic coercion, it should be the United States. The US is overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export controls, and taking discriminatory and unfair measures against foreign companies. It seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition,” said spokesman Wang Wenbin.
