International Finance Forum 2022: Geopolitical Conflicts and Covid-19 Pandemic Blunt Efforts to Boost Global Economic Recovery

Colliding challenges have cast uncertainty over the global economy as the world continues to grapple with escalating geopolitical conflicts, rising inflation, and renewed coronavirus outbreaks, said experts at the International Finance Forum (IFF) during an online session held on April 27.

Themed around “New Global Landscape: Challenges and Responses”, the spring meeting of IFF 2022 was inaugurated in late April, where a group of international economic experts and political leaders shed light on economic headwinds, forecasted global outlook, and discussed strategies and measures to help global economies navigate challenges ahead.

The global economic recovery is losing steam after a rebound in 2021, noted Zhu Xian, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the IFF and former Vice President of the World Bank.

Amid the new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global recovery largely hinges on measures that can strike a balance between sustained labor market challenges, lingering supply-chain restrictions, and surging inflation, he said.

Speaking on the role of the pandemic in reshaping the global economic landscape, Han Seung-soo, Former Prime Minister of Korea, Co-Chairman of IFF, and President of the 56th UN General Assembly, pointed out that Covid-19 has greatly driven the regionalization of the global economy.

He said that the challenge the world needs to take up in the future, especially in the coming decades, is to maintain the prosperity created by globalization over the past few decades. China, South Korea, and many other countries have benefited greatly from the process of economic globalization.

The economic stimulus designed to help the public weather the Covid-19 storm has caused high inflation and exacerbated social inequity, noted Jenny Shipley, former prime minister of New Zealand and board member of IFF, adding that governments should channel support to people in need and set tackling inequality at the top of their agenda.

Azymbakiev Muratbek Abakirovich, Deputy Secretary-General at Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said that the global economy continues to confront the negative effects of the pandemic, compounded by the rise of trade protectionism and unilateral trade barriers that have greatly harmed the sustainability and balance of economic growth across the world.

He called for global leaders to join actions to address issues involving climate change, depleting energy resources, and environmental deterioration. He also underscored that on top of those notable challenges, global sustainable development is exposed to the severe risks brought by politicized economic relations, weakening global governance, as well as stalling reform in the international trade system.

About International Finance Forum

IFF is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental international organization founded in Beijing in 2003. Established by financial leaders from more than 20 countries, regions, and international organizations including China, the US, the EU, and the UN, the forum is a long-standing, high-level platform for dialogue and communication. For more information, please visit: http://www.iff.org.cn/php/list.php?tid=477

Source: International Finance Forum (IFF)