Economy

French finance minister says economic ‘decoupling’ from China is impossible – France 24

Published

1 year ago

July 30, 2023

France’s finance minister said during a visit to Beijing on Sunday that cutting all economic ties with China was “an illusion”, as some Western countries question their reliance on the Asian giant.

Issued on: 30/07/2023 – 09:31

1 min

“We are totally opposed to the idea of decoupling. Decoupling is an illusion,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters at the French embassy.

“There is no possibility of having any kind of decoupling between the American, European and Chinese economies.”

Le Maire nonetheless defended France‘s ambition to become more economically independent in certain sectors. But, he added, the concept of de-risking, which has become a byword in the West in recent months, “does not mean that China is a risk”.

“De-risking means that we want to be more independent… We don’t want to realise, as we realised during the Covid crisis, that we have too much dependence on some very specific components,” he added, citing microchips as one example.

Le Maire’s remarks come as some Western countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on China, particularly Germany, which counts the Asian country as its top trading partner and an important market for its automotive industry.

The United States has also advocated de-risking from China, though US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a visit to Beijing earlier this month that a decoupling of the US and Chinese economies would be “virtually impossible”.

China, meanwhile, has lashed out at Western efforts to de-risk, with Premier Li Qiang last month calling the concept a “false proposition”.

Le Maire is in China for high-level economic talks, and will travel on Monday to the southern tech hub of Shenzhen to meet with business leaders.

(AFP)

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Economy

September merchandise trade deficit narrows to $1.3 billion: Statistics Canada

Published

1 day ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.

The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.

Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.

Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.

In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

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