Battle pits U.S. and China against each other
A meeting of the finance ministers from the G20 group of leading economies kicks off today in Gyeongiu, South Korea, with the goal of averting a global “currency war.” The spectre of such a scenario, which could upset the global economic recovery, arose after a series of aggressive market interventions this year by countries including Japan, Switzerland, Poland and Ukraine, which are trying to keep down the value of their currencies to make their exports more competitive on international markets. At the core of the currency issue is also a potential clash of titans between China, which has long been accused of manipulating its currency, and the U.S., which says China’s artificially cheap imports are swamping its domestic market.