European Central Bank to take appropriate action if inflation worsens: Lagarde

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said that the central bank is closely analyzing recent inflation data and stands ready to take appropriate action if signs of sustained “second-round” inflation emerge.

Speaking in an interview with China Media Group on Wednesday on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Lagarde addressed mounting concerns over the Eurozone’s economic outlook.

In September, Eurozone inflation jumped to a three-year high of 3.8 percent, significantly exceeding market expectations. Lagarde noted that a substantial portion of this spike was driven directly by energy prices, which surged 18.8 percent.

“A large portion of it is attributable to energy. Energy prices went up by 18.8 percent. That has an impact on overall prices. What I’m particularly concerned about is that it’s going to travel throughout the economy and have what we call the ‘second-round effect’, meaning workers will be asking for much higher wages, which will then translate back into higher inflation and prices, because demand will be fueling those prices. We are not seeing that. We are particularly attentive to hints — little signals that this is coming, but we’re not seeing it for the moment,” said Lagarde.

When asked whether the current rise in inflation would pressure the ECB to tighten monetary policy in the coming months, Lagarde maintained a cautious but confident stance.

“The second thing that I’m very attentive to is inflation expectations. If we see that inflation expectations in the medium-to-long term were to move up from where it is at the moment, or if we saw clear signals that second-round inflation would develop, then that would require action. For the moment, we believe that we are well-positioned,” said Lagarde.

Lagarde also addressed recent speculation regarding her future, emphasizing that her current focus is on maintaining price stability and making the right decisions as ECB president.

“What I can tell you is that I am 100 percent president of the ECB, focused on my work, focused on my job, focused on the collective endeavor that we have, which is to maintain price stability and to make the right decisions. That’s what I’m doing day in, day out, OK? When do I go? As I said, ‘it will be in 2027’, but I will announce in due course with appropriate notice. Everybody will know about it,” she said.

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) offers foreign companies a key trade platform to showcase their products and expand sales in China, a business leader has said, noting that many Portuguese companies are keen to participate again this year. In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Bernardo Mendia, secretary-general of the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber promotes the CIIE widely in Portugal through its online platforms and at physical events held every year. “I’m aware that many Portuguese companies will participate. We as China-Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we promote widely in Portugal through all our online platforms. We also organize every year, we try to organize or at least participate in a physical event in Portugal to promote China International Import Fair. And the AICEP, which is the Portuguese investment agency, every year they organize a group of Portuguese companies and they themselves are present there with their own booth,” Mendia said.

“I believe this year will not be an exception, and so they will participate again. It’s a quite relevant participation. We understand that this has a lot of interest for our companies, because it’s a trade exhibition that is for foreign entities to showcase their products and make sales in China. So it’s precisely what we need to do more, so it’s perfect. And we are very happy that China is still continuing to organize and put so much importance in this exhibition in Shanghai,” he said.

The ninth CIIE will be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. Launched in 2018 as the world’s first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE was designed to expand China’s opening-up and turn its vast market into a shared opportunity for the world.