Dubai: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde yesterday warned of the risk of a "lost decade" for the global economy unless nations act together to counter threats to growth.
"In our increasingly interconnected world, no country or region can go it alone. We are bound together by our economic success or failure," Lagarde said in a speech to a forum in Beijing yesterday. "There are dark clouds gathering in the global economy."
China and India echoed the call for cooperation in a separate statement.
Advanced economies have a "special responsibility" to restore confidence and lift growth, while China should boost consumption and allow its currency to rise, the IMF leader said. European leaders are looking to China as a potential source of funds as a sovereign-debt crisis threatens to engulf Italy.
The rise of Asia in the global economy is the defining economic success story of modern times, Lagarde said, emphasising the important role of Asia, and especially China, in achieving global economic recovery.
"The rise of Asia in the global economy is really the defining economic success story of modern times. And so today, it is no surprise that Asia is propelling the global recovery," she said.
