Spanish Economy Minister: Europe cannot ignore China
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According to Spain's Economy Minister, China is a significant geopolitical player that could provide debt relief and help end the war in Ukraine.
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Spanish Minister of Economy Nadia Calvino at a Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium March 14, 2022. (Reuters)
According to Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, Europe cannot disregard China's significant geopolitical role. Clavino said on Tuesday that China may help end the war in Ukraine, and provide debt relief for low-income nations.
Speaking to an Atlantic Council event in Washington, DC, the minister expressed that Europe cannot turn its back on China, adding, "We have a shared interest, I think, in ensuring that they engage constructively to put an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and to avoid global market fragmentation, which is going to be lose-lose for everyone."
Calvino, who leads the IMFC committee advising the IMF board, made the remarks on the sidelines of the IMF spring conference after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Europe should take its time building its position as a third pole between China and the US.
She also asked for China's larger engagement in the process, as finance ministers from across the world consider methods to accelerate debt relief for poor nations during this week's World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington.
Calvino called China, whose top leaders are expected to attend the Washington conference for the first time in three years, a "very important creditor" and elaborated on how their role is important in these discussions.
A record number of developing countries are facing financial crises with rising inflation, rising borrowing prices, and a strong currency raising their debt-service expenses.
Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Ghana have already defaulted on their foreign debt and are in discussions with creditors, notably Chinese lenders such as the China Export-Import Bank.
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Calvino stated that she intended to provide these nations with positive news about debt reduction later this year.
