Russia, China tone down G-20 draft text on geopolitical tensions
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JAKARTA/TOKYO • Russia and Chi-na watered down a communique being drafted by heads of the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies yesterday to remove a reference to "current" geopolitical tensions clouding the global economic outlook, sources at the talks said.
The meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bankers took place both virtually and in Jakarta, with a final, English-language communique due to be circulated afterwards.
An early draft of the text seen by Reuters contained no direct reference to the crisis on the Ukraine-Russia border, saying only that the G-20 would monitor risks, "including those arising from (current) geopolitical tensions".
Communique-drafters use brackets for language that has not been agreed by all at the table. Sources said that both Russia and China asked for the word "current" to be removed.
Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of host Indonesia, told reporters it had taken time to arrive at the final wording "because, of course, at the same time in the room were countries involved in the geopolitical tension mentioned".
The most recent English-language draft seen by Reuters read: "We will also continue to monitor major global risks, including from geopolitical tensions that are arising, and macroeconomic and financial vulnerabilities."
That vaguer language contrasts sharply with a warning by finance ministers of the G-7 group of large western economies on Monday that Russia would face "massive" economic consequences if it chose to invade Ukraine. Neither Russia nor China is a member of the G-7.
Dr Sri Mulyani said the toughest sticking points involved the reticence of some countries to endorse carbon-pricing as a tool to tackle climate change, and how to help poor nations whose debt burdens have worsened during the pandemic.
On other subjects, the latest draft of the G-20 text pledged to use "all available policy tools to address the impacts of the pandemic", while warning that future policy space was likely to be "narrower and uneven".
Inflation is currently elevated in many countries due to supply disruptions, a mismatch in supply and demand, as well as rising commodity and energy costs, the draft communique said.
REUTERS