Developing countries should fast-track US trade deals: World Bank president
Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump's stop-start tariff rollout.
The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said.
"You need to negotiate trade systems with the US at the earliest possible (opportunity)," he said. "If you delay, it hurts everyone."
Trump's tariffs have roiled financial markets, sent volatility surging and spooked investors and consumers.
Since returning to office in January, the US leader has imposed a "baseline" 10 percent tariff on most countries, with much higher duties on China, and 25 percent sector-specific levies on areas including steel, aluminum, and automobiles not manufactured in the United States.
He also introduced much higher tariffs on dozens of countries -- which have since been temporarily paused -- accusing them of having an unfair trade balance with the United States.
Bessent 'not wrong' on China
Banga also addressed the criticism leveled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Bank earlier this week.
Bessent criticized China's "absurd" developing country status and called on Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to "earn the confidence of the administration."
"I don't think he's wrong," Banga said of Bessent's comments on China.
"A country that is the size of China and the capability of China, at some point, should no longer be taking money from IBRD," he said, referring to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development -- an arm of the World Bank that lends largely to middle-income countries.
Such a move would require the support of the World Bank's executive board, which is made up by member states.
China, Banga said, borrowed around $750 million from the IBRD last year, while paying billions of dollars to the institution in repayments and donations.
"My view is, I've brought it down to 750 (million), and I'm trying to figure out a way to deal with China to bring it down further," he said. "I want to get it done. And that's what I'm talking to the Chinese about."
Banga said the Trump administration's criticisms of the World Bank, which included "expansive policy overreach," were not unusual, citing newly elected governments in countries including France, Japan and Korea.
"I keep telling people this is a perfectly constructive request, to say, tell me and show me that you guys are the kind of people that advance the interests of my taxpayer, of my country," he said.
"I take it in that spirit," he said. "There's nothing wrong with it."
Energy at 'lowest possible cost'
Since taking the helm of the Washington-based development lender in 2023, Banga has pushed to streamline operations and encourage private sector participation, while focusing on job creation and electricity connectivity.
Among the Bank's current priorities is a push with the African Development Bank to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030 -- a process that will require a vast amount of new energy to be brought online.
"You should try and get (energy) in the best, accessible way and the lowest possible cost," Banga said, suggesting that in addition to renewable power, nuclear and gas could help provide a base load -- two energy sources the World Bank is currently hesitant to finance.
The Bank's executive board is set to discuss its energy strategy in June, Banga said, adding that funding for both nuclear and gas would likely be on the agenda.
Banga said the Bank is also pushing to encourage private sector job creation in developing countries -- beyond simply outsourcing jobs from advanced economies.
"Because then you end up with challenges in (advanced economies), and you can see that people are speaking about them with their votes," he added.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
China says US exports have plummeted ahead of trade talks in London
China's exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, according to data released on Monday just hours ahead of another round of trade talks between the US and China. The total was a bit lower than expected, as shipments to the United States fell nearly 10%. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2bn (€90.33bn). China exported $28.8bn to the United States in May, while its imports from the US fell 7.4% to $10.8bn, the report said. Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12% year-on-year. 'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary. Still, trade slowed in May from an 8.1% jump in China's global exports in April. Many businesses had rushed orders to try to beat higher tariffs, even as some new import duties took effect or remained in place. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the US imposed on each other in their escalating trade war. 'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report. Despite the tariffs truce, the rancour between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries, and visas for Chinese students at American universities. The next round of negotiations is due to take place on Monday in London, following a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Other figures released on Monday highlight how slowing exports are impacting the world's second largest economy, since China imports many of the components and materials needed for the goods it assembles for the world. At the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, pointing to sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said. Producer price deflation was worse, contracting 3.3% in May, its lowest level in almost two years, after falling 2.7% in April. Salaries vary widely across sectors and professions in Europe. While a number of jobs are disappearing, new ones are also emerging. Some roles, like those in healthcare, continue to be essential. So, which sectors offer the highest pay in Europe? And what are the top-earning jobs? Exploring these questions can help when choosing a career — though salary may not be the main driver for everyone. Euronews Business analyses the highest-paying roles in Europe, using data shared by the global hiring platform Indeed with our journalists. The analysis covers four countries (the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands) and the salary data reflects annual earnings from May 2024 to April 2025. The occupation 'physicians and surgeons' is excluded from the main dataset, prompting a separate analysis. Medical consultants, radiologists, medical directors, orthodontists, and dentists are consistently among the highest-paid roles across all countries. These jobs appear in categories including: medical technician, medical information, nursing, and dental. This is especially true in the UK, where nearly half of the top 20 highest-paying jobs fall under these brackets. In France, three of the top four highest-paying jobs are also in these categories — particularly dental roles. Titles such as managing director, director of strategy, project director, and director of technology are well compensated across countries. These positions are found in sectors like sales, banking and finance, technology, and general management, indicating that leadership roles tend to carry premium compensation in many industries. Roles in software development, information design and documentation, and IT operations — like software engineer, data engineer, and SAP consultant — are well-paid, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. While entry-level sales roles are less lucrative, senior roles like sales director, head of sales, and enterprise account executive show high earning potential. These roles often come with large pay packages in Germany and the Netherlands, where experienced sales professionals can earn salaries comparable to those seen in tech or management roles. Positions like tax director, labour law attorney (or an employment solicitor), and financial controller are consistently high-paying, particularly in Germany and the UK. These roles fall under legal, accounting, and banking and finance categories and reward deep regulatory or financial expertise. Job skills are constantly evolving, especially with advancements in technology. 'Continuous learning is essential in a fast-evolving market,' Pawel Adrjan, Director of Economic Research at Indeed, told Euronews Business. 'As was the case with all prior cases of technological innovations, professionals who proactively learn new tools, platforms, and methodologies will position themselves more competitively to work most efficiently with the emerging technologies.' In Germany, corporate tax advisors receive the highest annual median salary, at €145,000. The chart also displays mean salaries for comparison. Various sales roles, such as managing director and head of sales, follow closely, with median earnings ranging from €107,500 to €138,243. A labour law attorney earns €105,000, while a lawyer receives €93,334. System applications product (SAP) consultants earn just below the €100,000 threshold, with senior system engineers close behind at €95,000. Other tech roles such as IT security specialist and technical SAP consultant make around €90,000. In the management category, directors also earn approximately €90,000. There is only one medical title listed — dentists — earning a median salary of nearly €86,000. In France, dentists top the list with the highest annual median salary at €95,000, followed by orthodontists earning €78,750. In the tech sector, network architects receive €72,361, while medical technicians in the healthcare field make €70,000. A compliance officer in production and manufacturing earns €67,500. Roles like domain manager and sales agent follow, with salaries of around €65,000 and €64,855 respectively. The digital transformation consultant and mechanical designer earn €62,750 and €62,500. Several positions report identical median salaries of €60,000, including engineering director, real estate salesperson, operations director, senior sales representative, account executive, production director, human resources director, cloud architect (cloud IT professional) and loan broker advisor. Healthcare professions dominate the top end of the UK salary spectrum, with nine of the top 20 highest-paying roles in this sector. In the UK, fashion models top the list with a striking annual median salary of €166,390 (£140,000). They are followed by medical consultants, earning €145,821 (£111,412). Medical directors and radiologists both earn €137,566. Other high earners in the healthcare sector include orthodontists (€130,767), clinical consultants (€125,392), chief nursing officers (€124,793), and clinical directors (€109,442). Associate dentists (€116,785) and periodontists (€113,808) are also among the top earners. In sterling, their annual salaries range from £96,000 to £116,000. Senior leadership and technical roles also feature prominently: project directors earn €122,528, directors of technology €121,821, and microbiologists €121,313. In the Netherlands, roles in management, accounting, and software development are among the best-paid. General directors lead with a median annual salary of €115,000. Other top-paying roles include business controllers (€80,000), team leaders (€78,206), and engineers (€75,208). Finance roles like controllers and financial controllers also perform well, earning between €72,500 and €75,816. Salaries in sales and tech positions tend to cluster between €56,500 and €66,000, with roles such as sales manager, software engineer, data analyst, and account executive all falling within this range. 'Attending a top-ranked university can certainly influence job prospects and salary potential, especially in countries like France or the UK,' Pawel Adrjan said. He noted that graduating from elite educational institutions like grandes écoles and universities with a long history can be perceived as a signal of ability in the labour market. 'However, recent trends we observe on Indeed in both the UK and France show that formal education requirements in job postings are becoming less common, especially in high-skill fields like IT and data science, suggesting a gradual shift toward skills-based hiring,' he added. As jobs continue to evolve, it's completely natural for the highest-paying roles to change too. 'Over the next 5-10 years, we anticipate that green energy, AI/GenAI, cybersecurity, and biotechnology will produce new top-earning job titles,' said Adrjan of Indeed. He explained that roles like AI ethicist, key sustainability roles, GenAI engineers, and climate data analysts are gaining traction and are likely to move into the upper salary echelons as demand for specialised expertise in these areas grows.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Asian markets rally ahead of latest China-US trade talks
The gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about Donald Trump's tariff blitz subside and countries make deals with Washington. All eyes are on London, where top officials from China and the United States are due to meet for more negotiations aimed at preserving a fragile truce agreed last month that slashed eye-watering tit-for-tat levies. The talks come days after Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the US president returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while plane giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. Optimism that the two sides will make a breakthrough boosted Asian markets, with Hong Kong up more than one percent, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Manila also advanced. The gains followed a strong lead from Wall Street, where all three main indexes closed more than one percent higher after figures showing the world's largest economy created a forecast-beating 139,000 jobs last month. While the figures for the previous two months were revised down, the data indicated that the economy remained robust, and tempered worries sparked by Wednesday's report by payroll firm ADP showing a big miss on private hiring. Eyes will now turn to the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to lower interest rates, with many economists warning that Trump's tariffs could reignite inflation, hit supply chains and drag on consumer sentiment. "The May minutes and recent comments by several (policy board) members... suggest the Fed is highly attentive to the risk that tariffs will lead to a persistent inflation shock," wrote analysts at Bank of America. "Those risks could come into focus for markets by the fall." Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights remained positive for the outlook for the US economy. "For now, the US economy continues to look reasonably resilient although the recent ADP jobs report showed some evidence of a slowdown in May," he said in a commentary. "However on the whole there is little sign that the economy is on the cusp of an economic shock at the moment, despite the unpredictable nature of the current US administration." Key figures at around 0230 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 38,137.09 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 24,160.62 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,399.65 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1415 from $1.1397 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3553 from $1.3529 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.52 yen from 144.81 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.22 pence from 84.23 pence
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Chinese consumer prices continue to fall as US trade talks loom
Beijing has failed to boost sluggish domestic consumption since the end of the pandemic, threatening official growth targets and complicating its ability to shield its economy from US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz. Representatives from the two countries are expected to meet on Monday in London for more high-stakes trade talks being closely watched for signs of a lasting deal on reducing levies. China's consumer price index -- a key measure of inflation -- dropped 0.1 percent year on year in May, according to statistics published Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading was unchanged from April but slightly better than the 0.2 percent fall forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. While deflation suggests the cost of goods is falling, it poses a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions. A lack of demand can then force companies to cut production, freeze hiring or lay off workers, while potentially also having to discount existing stocks -- dampening profitability even as costs remain the same. "China continues to face persistent deflationary pressure," Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note, adding that Beijing "needs to rely on domestic demand to fight the deflation". Zhang said exports continued to perform well and support the economy, while warning that they will "probably slow as the frontloading fades out" -- a reference to overseas buyers increasing shipments ahead of potentially higher tariffs. Trade figures for last month due later on Monday will also shed light on how the country's exporters are faring. Deepening a slump that has now lasted more than two years, factory gate prices also dropped in May, the NBS said Monday. The producer price index declined 3.3 percent, accelerating from a 2.7 percent drop in April, and faster than the 3.2 percent estimated in the Bloomberg survey. The China-US talks in London will mark the second round of formal negotiations between the world's two largest economies since Trump launched his global trade blitz in April. The first round of talks was held in mid-May in Geneva and saw them pause sky-high tariffs but fail to reach a sweeping trade deal. The latest negotiations are expected to include Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They were announced after a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which the US president described as "very good".
