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Chatter at the IMF: In 10 years, headquarters could be in Beijing

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Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, may not have realized that the headlines after her talk Monday on global economic challenges were about her casual remarks that the IMF could be based in Beijing in 10 years.

She was speaking at the Center for Global Development in Washington with its president, Masood Ahmed, a former senior IMF official.

Talking about the growing weight and contribution in the global economy by emerging market economies, Lagarde pointed out that those economies are currently underrepresented at the IMF and should be better represented if current growth trends continue.

“Which might very well mean, that if we have this conversation in 10 years’ time we might not be sitting in Washington DC,” Lagarde said.

“We will do it in Beijing,” Ahmed chipped in.

“We’ll do it in our Beijing head office,” Lagarde added, smiling and eliciting laughs from the audience, with Ahmed giving a thumbs-up.

“That’s a possibility. And it’s actually called for in the articles of the IMF that the head office has to be in the largest economy in the institution,” Lagarde said.

The IMF chief quickly added that talking about Beijing in 10 years’ time, it will be critically important, in order to secure staff eagerness to travel, that climate change commitments made by China be met.

The New York Times and Reuters have run stories highlighting Lagarde’s comments about the IMF possibly moving its head office to Beijing a decade later. The news also has been picked up by media in China.

“My understanding from people at the meeting is that the comment was made in jest. But of course, there is a grain of truth in every joke,” Caroline Freund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Freund, an economist who had previously worked at the IMF, the World Bank and the US Federal Reserve, said that even if the IMF is not located in China, China will…

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China

Government subsidies don’t boost Chinese firms’ productivity

China’s industrial subsidies have caused considerable controversy both internationally and domestically. Trading partners have accused China of unfairly favouring its indigenous firms with subsidies, leaving foreign companies at a disadvantage in the race to lead the technologies of the future.

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East Asia Forum

Governments around the world regularly spend an enormous amount of money subsidising businesses. But few spend like China. A 2022 report suggests that China spends 1.7–5 per cent of its GDP on industrial policies, more than most countries.

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Companies

Chinese Smartphone Manufacturer Lays Off 3,000 Employees Following Closure of Chip Design Division

OPPO, a major Chinese smartphone maker, announced the closure of its chip design company ZEKU Technology (ZEKU).

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OPPO, a major Chinese smartphone maker, announced the closure of its chip design company ZEKU Technology (ZEKU).

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Companies

Company Owned by Chinese Billionaire Guilty of Paying $1 Million in Bribes to LA Councilman

A Los Angeles real estate firm owned by a Chinese billionaire is guilty of paying more than $1 million in bribes to a Los Angeles city councilman as part of a scheme that involved luxury cruises, high-rolling trips to casinos, and prostitution.

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A Los Angeles real estate firm owned by a Chinese billionaire is guilty of paying more than $1 million in bribes to a Los Angeles city councilman as part of a scheme that involved luxury cruises, high-rolling trips to casinos, and prostitution.

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