JAPAN: China and Japan should find ways to resolve their territorial dispute before further hurting the global economy, says World Bank Managing Director, Sri Mulyani Indrawati
Record ID:
466636
JAPAN: China and Japan should find ways to resolve their territorial dispute before further hurting the global economy, says World Bank Managing Director, Sri Mulyani Indrawati
- Title: JAPAN: China and Japan should find ways to resolve their territorial dispute before further hurting the global economy, says World Bank Managing Director, Sri Mulyani Indrawati
- Date: 12th October 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 11, 2012) (REUTERS) WORLD BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR SRI MULYANI INDRAWATI TAKING SEAT FOR INTERVIEW ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) MEETINGS LOGO SRI MULYANI SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR, SRI MULYANI INDRAWATI, SAYING: "The stake is just too high, and now you can see that the responses from the industry and services, whether you're talking about banking or manufacturing, they're already hurt by this kind of situation and uncertainty. And this is the timing in which we've already had a lot of uncertainty coming from the global weakening, so I think it is really on their mutual benefits of the two countries to actually settling this dispute in a much more acceptable way." SRI MULYANI LISTENING TO QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR, SRI MULYANI INDRAWATI, SAYING: "The China growth model need(s) to be adjusted with both internal challenges as well as the external environment, which is not going to be there for them to continue support the growth model in the past three decades. So, shifting into domestic demand growth, becoming more greener and inclusive. It will require, and in this case the implication is that lowering growth rate, it doesn't mean that the quality of the growth is going to be different." SRI MULYANI TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR, SRI MULYANI INDRAWATI, SAYING: "They cannot avoid by saying that, 'well I'm too busy because the situation is just pressing, so I don't have enough time and energy to address the issue on medium or long-term.' You cannot be too captured by the short-term situation. You should start looking at the more medium and long-term." VARIOUS OF SRI MULYANI TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR, SRI MULYANI INDRAWATI, SAYING: "It is always honoured, and of course for me, people asking that kind of question implicitly there's an expectation or at least the recognition about the financial role that I could play. But as I said that the work in the bank is so challenging, especially this time when many developing countries are facing a lot of risk coming from both global challenges as well as their own domestic challenges." SRI MULYANI LEAVING
- Embargoed: 27th October 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA94MNNHM5ZJ8C8NQYWY41TBU25
- Story Text: The Managing Director of the World Bank Group Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Thursday (October 11) urged China and Japan to settle their recent territorial feud before it further damages the global economy which is already suffering from the lingering global financial crisis.
Indrawati, the former Indonesian finance minister and a hard-line reformist, said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) semi-annual meetings that the row between the second and the third largest economy in the world is too significant to be ignored.
"The stake is just too high, and now you can see that the responses from the industry and services, whether you're talking about banking or manufacturing, they're already hurt by this kind of situation and uncertainty. And this is the timing in which we've already had a lot of uncertainty coming from the global weakening, so I think it is really on their mutual benefits of the two countries to actually settling this dispute in a much more acceptable way," Sri Mulyani said in an interview with Reuters in Tokyo.
The disputed group of islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are located near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge oil-and-gas reserves. Taiwan also asserts its sovereignty over the uninhabited islets.
The row escalated in September when Japan bought some of the islands from their private owners.
Violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products broke out across China in the same month, with Japanese carmakers reporting a tumble in September auto sales in China, the world's biggest car market.
Furthermore both countries have sent patrol boats to waters near the disputed islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could escalate into a broader clash.
The on-going tensions have started to affect a wide variety of Japanese firms with some foreign investors to allocate funds away from Japan amid fears that a lasting reconciliation could be a long way off.
Regarding the IMF's recent cut of its expectations for China's economic growth, Sri Mulyani said China should look for an alternative growth model.
"The China growth model need(s) to be adjusted with both internal challenges as well as the external environment, which is not going to be there for them to continue support the growth model in the past three decades. So, shifting into domestic demand growth, becoming more greener and inclusive. It will require, and in this case the implication is that lowering growth rate, it doesn't mean that the quality of the growth is going to be different," Sri Mulyani explained.
The IMF on Tuesday (October 9) cut its global growth forecasts for the second time since April and warned U.S. and European policymakers that failure to fix their economic ills would prolong the slump.
It also cut its expectations for Chinese in 2012 and 2013 but warned against being overly pessimistic about the prospects of these economies, which were major engines of growth in the global financial crisis.
A top reformer who had upset the political and business elite with her anti-corruption drive during her term as the Indonesian finance minister, Sri Mulyani said government policymakers should not be short-sighted.
"They cannot avoid by saying that, 'well I'm too busy because the situation is just pressing, so I don't have enough time and energy to address the issue on medium or long-term.' You cannot be too captured by the short-term situation. You should start looking at the more medium and long-term," she said.
Indonesia will elect a new president in 2014 when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono steps down after two terms and as politicians from all parties.
When asked whether she would be interested in running for president, the economist said: "It is always honoured, and of course for me, people asking that kind of question implicitly there's an expectation or at least the recognition about the financial role that I could play. But as I said that the work in the bank is so challenging, especially this time when many developing countries are facing a lot of risk coming from both global challenges as well as their own domestic challenges."
Her fans in Indonesia last year formed a political party for Sri Mulyani in the hope that she might decide to run for the next president. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None