Christine Lagarde on China

Christine Lagarde, in her capacity as President of the European Central Bank, emphasizes the critical need for international cooperation to navigate an increasingly fragmented global economy, explicitly mentioning China's role in this context. She has hailed China's Five-Year Plan for strengthening global integration and has discussed the importance of robust EU-China central bank cooperation. While acknowledging geopolitical tensions and the reality of de-risking in strategic sectors, her core message centers on preventing mutually damaging outcomes by sustaining cooperation, even among geopolitical rivals, as a historical lesson for preserving global prosperity.

Her stance is framed by historical analysis, noting that eras with strong strategic alliances, like the post-Bretton Woods period, proved more resilient to economic frictions than periods lacking such coordination, such as the inter-war years. The President has pointed to China's significant economic rise and poverty reduction achievements, which occurred within a multilateral trade framework like the WTO. She suggests that while full integration may be challenged, preserving basic cooperation—for instance, on critical supply chains or AI safety standards—is essential to avoid the negative consequences of trade contraction seen historically.