TOKYO - Raging global trade tensions are likely to force some finance leaders from Group of 20 nations meeting in Japan this weekend to issue stark warnings about risks to the world economy, challenging the forum’s more upbeat outlook on global growth.
However, some policymakers may be less optimistic about the outlook and flag growing risks when they speak on the sidelines of the meeting, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s bitter trade war with China and Mexico jolt markets and stoke fears of a global recession. “A global recession is not our main scenario, but the risks are on the rise,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas Securities.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will meet People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang in Fukuoka, which will be the first face-to-face discussion between key members of the two countries’ trade negotiation teams since talks broke down a month ago. The communique will maintain language that warns against excessive and disorderly currency moves, the officials said.