Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet with the heads of the IMF, World Bank and WTO
Today, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet with the heads of the IMF, World Bank and WTO in Beijing to discuss trade, economic growth and structural reforms.
This will be the third such dialogue—the last having been held in September 2017. There Keqiang made a commitment to the pursuit of economic cooperation and achievement of multilateralism, highlighting its necessity as the “world economic recovery remains fragile and uneven”.
This statement is even more pertinent for this year’s meeting given China’s escalating trade war with the United States. Expect the leaders of the aforementioned institutions to primarily engage in negotiation with the goal of de-escalation, notably focusing on Chinese retaliatory measures.
Furthermore, the leaders set to meet with Keqiang may assert pressure with respect to China’s contentious foreign ownership restrictions, which have often been criticised by democratic leaders and were partially reformed in June. However, significant concessions in this area are unlikely; China has recently instigated reforms and thus will be reluctant to concede further.
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