Washington: Trade tensions between the United States and China, which threaten to spill over into the global economy, are dominating a gathering of world finance officials even as the Group of 20 avoided the topic on Friday.
Official after official has called for disputes to be resolved through dialogue rather than unilateral tariffs, and warned about the threat to the economic recovery.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized what he called a "vain and pointless" spat with China.
"We run the risk of trade war. We run the risk of multilateral order breaking down that is good for no one, and most definitely not for the world economy and growth," Le Maire told reporters during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund.
But US President Donald Trump's top finance official said the fault lies with countries that employ unfair trade policies.
"We strongly believe that unfair global trade practices impede stronger US and global growth, acting as a persistent drag on the global economy," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement to the IMF.
While IMF chief Christine Lagarde has offered the fund as a forum to resolve differences, Mnuchin instead said the IMF "should be a strong voice" in urging members "to dismantle trade and non-tariff barriers and to protect intellectual property rights."
Le Maire agreed China must respect the rules, but said the country is a key part of the world trading system.
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