Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an met with European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe on October 16 in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. The two sides held in-depth exchanges on China-EU macroeconomic policy coordination and global imbalance governance. Vice Finance Minister Liao Min accompanied Lan.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of slowing global growth intertwined with structural contradictions. Lan pointed out clearly during the talks that the world economy faces multiple challenges, and that China and the EU, as major economies, should push all parties to practice genuine multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, maintain the stability of international industrial and supply chains, and inject momentum into global economic growth.
On the issue of global imbalances, which has drawn widespread attention, Lan systematically laid out China’s position. He stressed that global imbalances are a complex structural economic issue, rooted in multiple factors including the development of economic globalization and the international division of labor, the dominance of major currencies, and the macroeconomic policy orientations of various countries. In recent years, the issue has also been increasingly influenced by non-economic factors such as geopolitics and protectionism. All parties should view the imbalance issue comprehensively, objectively, and in a balanced manner, and promote balanced and sustainable global economic growth through open cooperation and macroeconomic policy coordination.
When introducing the direction of China’s economic policy, Lan said that China is accelerating the construction of a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other, with expanding domestic demand as a key strategic pillar. He further noted that during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, China will place greater emphasis on expanding domestic demand, investing in people, and openness and sharing, promoting effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy, and continuously providing opportunities and important support for world economic growth.
European representatives responded positively to the importance of bilateral economic and trade relations during the talks. The European side stated that the EU and China are important economic partners, and that the EU values deepening policy communication and coordination with China. The European side believes that intensifying global imbalances pose risks to macroeconomic stability and require joint action by all parties to accelerate response; major economies should all advance structural reforms and continuously optimize their economic structures.
The European side also introduced the EU’s current economic policy priorities, stating that the EU is deepening the construction of its single market, focusing on increasing investment and enhancing competitiveness. The EU looks forward to strengthening macroeconomic policy dialogue with China in the fiscal and financial fields, engaging in in-depth exchanges on global economic rebalancing, fair competition, and other topics, and jointly safeguarding global economic and financial stability.
Lan also put forward specific directions for China-EU institutionalized cooperation during the talks. He said that China is willing to work with the EU to fully leverage mechanisms such as the China-EU Financial Dialogue to conduct communication on improving global economic governance and strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination. This statement underscored China’s hope to transform bilateral macroeconomic policy coordination into regular, institutionalized cooperation arrangements through existing dialogue platforms.
Judging from the agenda of this meeting, the discussions covered the structural causes of global imbalances, the risks of unilateralism and protectionism, the structural reform responsibilities of major economies, and practical cooperation pathways between China and the EU in the fiscal and financial fields. This reflects the shared willingness of the two major economies to manage differences through dialogue and promote stability through coordination amid the profound adjustment of the international economic and trade landscape.
Notably, Lan particularly emphasized the policy orientation of “investing in people” during the talks, which aligns with China’s policy priorities in recent years in human capital, social security, and consumption capacity building. Analysts believe that China’s continued signals of expanding domestic demand and openness and sharing at G20 and other multilateral forums are intended to convey to the international community the certainty of China’s economic growth model transformation, while also offering a Chinese solution for global demand rebalancing.
The timing of this high-level China-EU fiscal and financial interaction also carries special significance. The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting is one of the core platforms for global macroeconomic policy coordination. Lan’s collective meeting with the three core European fiscal and financial officials reflects not only the European side’s emphasis on China-EU economic dialogue, but also the practical need for both sides to stabilize expectations through high-level communication amid multiple pressures including trade frictions, supply chain restructuring, and monetary policy divergence.
From a broader perspective, China and the EU are important trading partners, and the stability of bilateral economic and trade relations is of systemic importance to the global economy. Against the backdrop of intensifying global imbalances and frequent geopolitical disruptions, China-EU policy coordination in the fiscal and financial fields is not only about safeguarding bilateral economic interests, but also directly affects the effective functioning of the multilateral economic governance system.