G20 leaders urged to address structural demand imbalance

Group of 20 leaders should try to address the global imbalance by fixing structural demand problems, not through currency revaluation, Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach said Tuesday.

The renowned economist said the G20 Summit slated for Nov. 11-12 should give both China and the U.S. an equal pressure to address their portion of imbalance. 

Although Korea, the chair of the forum, should not feel it needs to be responsible to hammer out an outcome, it could successfully mediate the discussion by suggesting to participants that there may be other measures that can reach the same place.

“Currency fixes should be viewed as only one way to resolve the trade imbalance and addressing savings imbalances through structural demand policies is an alternative policymakers should turn to,” Roach said at the 11th World Knowledge Forum in Seoul.

Stephen Roach Stephen Roach