Juncker calls for united EU under one leader

Juncker wants a single EU president who campaigns in the 2019 elections (Photo: European Commission)

 

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker outlined his post-Brexit vision for a confident EU in his state of the union address on Wednesday (14 September), speaking of a Europe that has bounced back from the economic downturn and regained the political ground from populists and eurosceptics.

Juncker, in his second to last state of the union speech, has argued for a more united and effective EU that is based on freedom, equality and the rule of law, and signalled that he wants all EU countries to become full eurozone and Schengen area members by 2019 – except those with opt-outs.

Diplomat says China would assume world leadership if needed

 

• China’s response came over Trump’s pledge to put “America first”.
• In Davos, President Xi Jinping portrayed China as leader of a globalised world.
• China is the world’s second-largest economy after the US.

BEIJING: China does not want world leadership but could be forced to assume that role if others step back from that position, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump pledged to put “America first” in his first speech.

Zhang Jun,, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s international economics department, made the comments during a briefing with foreign journalists to discuss President Xi Jinping’s visit to Switzerland last week.

How China successfully redrew the global financial map with AIIB

From worries that it would not raise enough funds to concerns other nations would not support it, Beijing was plagued by self-doubt when it first considered setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in early 2013, two sources with knowledge of internal discussions said.

However, promises by some Middle East governments to stump up cash and the support of key European nations – to Beijing’s surprise and despite US opposition – proved a turning point in China’s plans to alter the global financial architecture.

Washington, China, and the Rise of the Renminbi: Are the Dollar’s Days as the Global Reserve Currency Numbered?

Abstract

The U.S. dollar has dominated the international monetary system since the end of World War II. While the U.S. economy has generated weak growth since 2009, and accumulated a large sovereign debt, the dollar’s status as an international medium of exchange and reserve currency has not diminished. The Chinese renminbi (RMB), however, barely visible in international trade or financial flows just three years ago, appears to be blossoming. China is now the world’s largest trading nation, and more corporations, particularly in Asia, are beginning to invoice their business in RMB. The Chinese regime is calling for a reform of the international monetary system to expand the internationalization of the RMB. Speculation has begun about whether the U.S. dollar could be supplanted by the RMB. Such a development would jeopardize the enormous economic advantages that the U.S. has enjoyed by possessing the world’s dominant currency. Moreover, it would signal a relative decline in American prestige and global leadership. The answer to the dollar’s potential decline is not to seek obstacles to China’s or any other nation’s economic success, but to change fiscal and monetary policies at home in order to maintain the dollar’s competitiveness.The U.S. dollar has dominated the international monetary system for approximately 70 years. While the U.S. economy has generated weak growth over the past six years and accumulated a large sovereign debt, the dollar’s status as an international medium of exchange and reserve currency (currency held by foreign central banks) has defied the odds and has not diminished.