US closely monitoring slump in Chinese economy

The US is closely monitoring the turbulence in the Chinese economy and its impact on the global financial system, the White House said, adding that the best way to weather this storm is to establish economic relationships with the growing economies of the world.

“We are aware of the kind of volatility that we have seen in China over the last several days, and that has had an impact on markets in other countries, including ours. So that’s certainly something that we’re closely watching,” White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest said yesterday.

“The best way for the US economy to weather some of the volatility that one sees in the international economy is actually to strengthen America’s economic relationship with those countries that do have a fast-growing economy,” Earnest said.

“When you start to see volatility in places like China, having access to other fast-growing markets in the world becomes even more important,” he said.

Stressing on the need to “ratify” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Earnest said Congress should move expeditiously and should not wait until the end of the year to approve the agreement.

“The case that we have made to the Chinese has centred on the responsibilities that come with being one of the world’s largest economies, particularly an economy like theirs that is growing rather rapidly,” he said.

America’s approach has been to press China on the pace of its reforms, including additional measures for an orderly transition to a market-oriented exchange rate that responds to upward as well as downward market pressure.

“That essentially is the core of our policy and it is the case that we have made to the Chinese that implementing those kinds of reforms at a reasonable pace is good for the broader international economy but also will have long-term benefits for the Chinese economy as well,” the White House Press Secretary said.