The director general of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has invited Japan and China to focus their attention on the problems of world economic growth, rather than on territorial disputes. The reference is to the recent tensions linked to the clash over the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea.
Lagarde will be in Tokyo next week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, some large Chinese banks have already canceled their participation, as the Dow Jones Newswires agency announced today. None of the institutes explained the reasons for the renunciation, but according to observers the decision would be related precisely to the dispute on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. The Dow Jones agency added that the Bank of China is also considering canceling the trip to Tokyo.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Japanese press agency Kyodo, Lagarde recalled that “China and Japan are two fundamental economies that must not be distracted by territorial disputes. The current state of the world economy needs the absolute commitment of Japan and China”, added Lagarde, inviting the two countries to demonstrate that “necessary tolerance between two neighboring countries”.
