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Boeing’s CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China trade war, as the company’s shares surged following a smaller than expected loss.In a televised interview with CNBC, Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said Chinese customers had “stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the tariff environment,” adding that if the halt continued, the aviation giant would soon market the jets to other carriers.President Donald Trump’s trade conflicts with China and other countries loom as a question mark for Boeing, a major US exporter, despite Wednesday’s solid results.Boeing had planned to deliver around 50 aircraft to China in 2025, said Ortberg, adding that the company wouldn’t “wait too long” to send the jets to other customers.”I’m not going to let this derail the recovery of our company, so we’ll give the customers an opportunity if they want to take the airplanes,” Ortberg said.”That’s what we prefer to do. But if not, we’re gonna remarket those airplanes.”The comments came as Trump and top administration officials have, over the last day, spoken more optimistically about a trade accord with China. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Wednesday that Washington is “not yet” speaking with Beijing on tariffs.Boeing’s engagement with the White House on trade has been “very dynamic,” Ortberg said on a conference call with analysts.”I can’t predict” the course of trade talks, Ortberg said. “We do hear signs that indicate that there will be negotiated settlements… I just don’t know the timing.”A priority is “to make sure we don’t see more countries in a similar boat as where we are with China,” Ortberg said.Boeing downplayed the impact of Trump’s tariffs, saying steel and aluminum make up only one or two percent of aircraft costs, with most of the raw material supplied domestically anyway. Under a US duty drawback program, Boeing can recover custom duties on certain goods when they export the taxed item.- Smaller loss -The aviation giant reported a loss of $123 million in the first quarter, smaller than the $343 million loss in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 18 percent to $19.5 billion.In its earnings release, Boeing confirmed targets to raise commercial plane production as it bolsters its safety efforts following deadly crashes and other major incidents.The company reaffirmed that production of its 737 MAX will hit 38 per month in 2025, while output of the 787 Dreamliner will climb to seven per month from five per month.Boeing said it still expects first delivery of the 777-9 in 2026.Boeing also reported a cash burn of $2.3 billion, “much better” than the expected $3.7 billion hit to free cash flow, according to analysts at TD Cowen.Boeing on Tuesday announced plans to sell portions of its digital aviation solutions business to software-focused investment firm Thoma Bravo for $10.6 billion as it seeks to bolster its financial position.Ortberg told analysts that he is considering some other divestments of assets “smaller” than those in the Thoma Bravo deal, which includes Jeppesen, an 81-year-old aviation navigation company.Ortberg joined Boeing last summer following a leadership shakeup in the wake of a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight that made an emergency landing after a panel blew out mid-flight.Before that, there were deadly plane crashes on the 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia.To win back the confidence of lawmakers and customers, Boeing has been implementing quality control enhancements under close scrutiny of federal regulators.”Our company is moving in the right direction as we start to see improved operational performance across our businesses from our ongoing focus on safety and quality,” Ortberg said in a press release. Boeing led the Dow index Wednesday, rising six percent.

A US Army intelligence analyst was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Wednesday for providing sensitive defense information to China, including documents about US weapons systems and military tactics and strategy.Sergeant Korbein Schultz, who held a top-secret security clearance, was arrested in March 2024 at Fort Campbell, a military base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.Schultz was sentenced after he pleaded guilty last August to sharing at least 92 sensitive US military documents, the Justice Department said in a statement.He admitted charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official.”This sentencing is a stark warning to those who betray our country: you will pay a steep price for it,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.According to the charging documents, Schultz provided dozens of sensitive US military documents to an individual living in Hong Kong who he believed to be associated with the Chinese government.He was paid $42,000 for the information, according to the Justice Department.Among the documents handed over by Schultz was one discussing the lessons learned by the US Army from the Ukraine-Russia war that it would apply in a defense of Taiwan.Other documents discussed Chinese military tactics and preparedness, and US military exercises and forces in South Korea and the Philippines.US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the Justice Department “remains vigilant against China’s efforts to target our military and will ensure that those who leak military secrets spend years behind bars.”Schultz’s arrest came less than a year after the arrests of two US Navy sailors in California on charges of spying for China.One of them, petty officer Wenheng Zhao, was sentenced to 27 months in prison in January 2024 after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring with a foreign intelligence officer and accepting a bribe.

US President Donald Trump’s popularity has sunk since his riotous return to the White House, polls showed Wednesday, with Americans criticizing him on key issues of the economy and immigration.The Republican has unleashed a flood of actions -– from sweeping tariffs to immigration crackdowns –- to deliver on what he considers an overwhelming mandate from US voters.But an Economist/YouGov survey found a downward trend in Trump’s approval rating, with 41 percent of Americans now signaling support compared to around half in January.Another poll, by Pew Research Center, found Trump’s job rating has dropped from 47 percent in February to 40 percent today –- significantly lower than his predecessor Joe Biden’s score of 59 percent in April 2021. Overall, Trump’s average approval rating of 45 percent in his first three months back in office has been below all other post-World War II presidents elected in the United States, Gallup said last week.Results also show Americans losing confidence in Trump’s ability to handle key issues such as the economy.Voters last year viewed the 78-year-old billionaire as strong on the economy, but his imposition of sweeping tariffs on trade partners this month has rattled global markets. Some 54 percent of Americans now feel the economy is getting worse, compared to 37 percent in January, according to the Economist/YouGov poll. Trump’s approval rating is notably lagging on the cost of living, a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed, with just 31 percent of Americans approving of his performance on that issue.Inflation was a hot topic in the November election, with Trump vowing to immediately lower prices as president.He has seen a similar downward trend on immigration –- another typically strong area for Trump, who has led a hardline deportation strategy targeting undocumented migrants which has pitted him in legal battles with the courts.The Economist/YouGov poll found that 45 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling immigration, compared with 50 percent two weeks ago.Polls also show a drop in support among some key demographics that helped Trump return to power by picking him over Democratic election rival Kamala Harris.They include Hispanic voters, whose approval score has dropped from 36 percent in early February to 27 percent, according to the Pew poll.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank “must be made fit for purpose again,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday, arguing the institutions should be promoting economic growth instead of social issues.Speaking on the sidelines of the organizations’ spring meetings in Washington, Bessent said the IMF devotes “disproportionate time” to climate change, gender, and other social topics.”The Trump Administration is eager to work with them — so long as they can stay true to their missions,” Bessent said, adding that the IMF should concentrate on global monetary cooperation and financial stability.The World Bank, he said, should focus on core functions like helping developing countries grow their economies, lower poverty and boost private investment.Bessent’s comments come amid concerns that Washington might pull back from the fund and the bank.In a briefing with reporters after his speech Wednesday, Bessent said that he has had meetings with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga, and that his remarks on Wednesday were “not a surprise for them.””I think that they are good leaders, and I hope that they will earn the confidence of the administration in the coming months through their actions,” Bessent added.While the IMF and World Bank serve critical roles in the global economy, “under the status quo, they are falling short,” Bessent said in his speech.He added that they “must step back from their sprawling and unfocused agendas.”Bessent called on the IMF to be tougher with borrowers, saying the fund “has no obligation to lend to countries that fail to implement reforms.””Economic stability and growth should be the markers of the IMF’s success — not how much money the institution lends out,” he said.An IMF spokesperson told reporters that the fund looks forward to furthering engagement with the US government.On the World Bank, Bessent said the group should also “no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform.”He noted that the bank could use resources more efficiently by helping emerging countries boost energy access, saying they should focus on “dependable technologies” rather than seeking out “distortionary climate finance targets.”This could mean investing in gas and other fossil fuel-based energy production, he said. He also lauded the bank’s recent efforts toward removing restrictions on support for nuclear energy.He urged for “graduation timelines” too, calling it “absurd” for China to still be considered a developing country.Bessent said he was not concerned about the IMF slashing its US growth outlook.He expects greater clarity on tariffs around the third quarter of the year, and said effects of deregulation should also begin kicking in around the same time.

US President Donald Trump lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, blaming the Ukrainian president’s refusal to accept Russian occupation of Crimea for failure to end the war.Trump said in a Truth Social post that a deal was “very close” but that Zelensky’s refusal to accept US terms for ending the conflict — which began with Russia’s invasion — “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field.'”The comments came as lower-level envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations wrapped up talks in Britain.Ahead of Trump’s broadside, Vice President JD Vance laid out the US vision for a peace deal where Russia would get to keep already occupied swaths of Ukraine, which include Crimea.Zelensky rejected this as a violation of Ukraine’s constitution.That in turn prompted Trump’s outburst in which he accused Zelensky of “boasting” and taking a position “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia.””Inflammatory” Zelensky “has “no cards” and “can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump wrote.Trump said Crimea — a lush Black Sea peninsula with longtime major Soviet and Russian naval facilities — “was lost years ago” and “is not even a point of discussion.”The intense US pressure on Ukraine to accept the terms comes as Trump is scrambling to live up to his election campaign promises, which included vowing to resolve the conflict in 24 hours.He has put no equivalent visible pressure on Russia, while dangling a lifting of massive US economic sanctions against Moscow if the fighting stops.- ‘Freeze’ Russia’s gains -Vance earlier gave the fullest public explanation of the US plan so far, saying that the deal would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.””The Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” Vance said while on a trip to India.Freezing the frontlines would mean Ukraine losing huge areas to Russian occupation.The vice president did not explain what territory Russia — which seized Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion targeting the rest of the country in 2022 — would have to give up.Washington has “issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians” and “it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance said.Growing speculation over Washington being ready to recognize Russian rule over Crimea as a sweetener to get Moscow to stop its invasion has alarmed European capitals.French President Emmanuel Macron’s office told AFP on Wednesday that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans.”A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters “it has to be up to Ukraine to decide its future” and “we will never walk away from Ukraine.”UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of foreign ministers in London on Wednesday.The talks were then downgraded to “official level” — a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations.US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.- Russian bombing -The latest diplomatic wrangling comes after a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said Wednesday.Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.In light of the attacks, Zelensky called for an “immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire”.In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.burs-sms/aha

The roof of the Dominican nightclub that collapsed on concertgoers, killing 232 people, had been leaking for years, the club’s owner told local media Wednesday.In an interview with the Dominican Republic’s Telesistema channel, the owner of the Jet Set nightclub said water intrusion had been a consistent issue, and that the roof was “never” inspected by the authorities.”In the building there were always leaks. When we bought it at the end of the 1980s (and) there were already leaks,” Antonio Espaillat said of his club, a lynchpin of nightlife in the capital Santo Domingo for half a century.The roof of the venue came crashing down in the early hours of April 8 on hundreds of people attending a concert by merengue star Rubby Perez, in the Caribbean nation’s worst disaster in decades.Perez, 69, was among the victims, along with two retired Major League Baseball players and a provincial governor.Aerial images of the disaster site showed large air conditioning units sitting atop the rubble.Espaillat said water leaking from the air conditioning system constantly caused ceiling panels to buckle and need replacing.”The gypsum planks absorb all the water. The gypsum gets heavy and falls,” he said, adding that the panels had been changed hours before the collapse.The cause of the disaster is still under investigation.Building experts have suggested that the roof collapsed under excess weight and have also pointed a finger at poor oversight by the authorities. Espaillat’s sister and mother were pulled alive from the rubble.”If this could have been avoided…I would have tried to avoid it,” he said, adding that the building had never been inspected for structural soundness.The Dominican Republic has no law requiring privately-owned buildings to undergo safety inspections.After the disaster President Luis Abinader said the government was drafting a bill making inspections mandatory.The families of at least three victims of the disaster have filed a criminal complaint against Espaillat accusing him of manslaughter.The relatives of at least one of the victims, Virgilio Cruz, have also said they will sue the state and Santo Domingo city hall for failing to ensure that a venue open to the public met safety standards.

Prosecutors opening Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault retrial described Wednesday how he ignored his victims’ pleas to stop and abused his position to make them “feel small.”The trial, which began with jury selection last week, will force survivors who helped spark the “MeToo” movement to testify against Weinstein once more.The former Miramax studio boss is charged with the 2006 sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and the 2013 rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann. He also faces a new count for an alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old in 2006.Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey recounted Weinstein’s alleged attacks in graphic detail, saying all three women had begged him to stop, but that he had “all the power… He made all these women feel small.”The prosecutor described how Weinstein pestered Haleyi with multiple requests for massages and sexual favors before she found herself alone with him in an apartment one day in 2006.”The defendant, three times (her) size, kissed her, groped her, and she told him again she was not interested,” Lucey said.”He pulled Mimi towards him… She quickly realized he was not going take a no for an answer,” the prosecutor added. Lucey detailed how Weinstein then forced himself on Haleyi, performing oral sex on her despite her pleas for him to stop.The award-winning movie producer, who was brought into Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair and wore a dark business suit, glanced occasionally at the jury as the trial got underway. Lucey described the defendant as “one of the most powerful men in… show business,” telling the majority-female jury that “when he wanted something, he took it.”- More than 80 accusers -Kaja Sokola, who was not part of the previous trial, was an aspiring model and just 16 years old at the time that she alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Manhattan. Accusers describe the impresario as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actresses and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.But Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s defense attorney, stressed that the prosecution opening statement was not “the whole movie,” arguing that the jury would hear no evidence of the use of force or a lack of consent.He said Mann had introduced Weinstein to her mother after the alleged rape, and that Haleyi had “consensual sex” with Weinstein after her alleged attack.”Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty,” he told the jury.Weinstein’s 2020 convictions over Haleyi and Mann were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.Presentation of the evidence in the retrial is expected to last five to six weeks.The 73-year-old has said he hopes his case will be judged with “fresh eyes,” more than seven years after his spectacular downfall and a global backlash against predatory abusers.Weinstein is already serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.The producer of a string of box office hits such as “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” Weinstein has battled health issues.He has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.Since his downfall, Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lupita Nyong’o and Ashley Judd.

The United States has piled pressure on Ukraine and Russia to find a peace agreement, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance threatening to walk away if a deal is not made.So what does Washington want? Some official demands have already been made public, and media outlets have reported on several unannounced plans for a US-led accord.- Ukraine gives up territory -Axios, citing a US plan presented to Ukrainian officials last week, said that Washington could offer “de facto” recognition of Russia’s occupation in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday suggested US support to “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.”But Kyiv has rejected that idea.”Our people will not accept a frozen conflict disguised as peace,” said Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, in a post on X. – Russia gets Crimea -According to The Washington Post, the United States has offered to recognize Crimea — which Moscow annexed in 2014 in a widely condemned move — as Russian territory.That would meet a major demand of President Vladimir Putin, but the suggestion has enraged his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. “There is nothing to talk about. It is against our Constitution. This is our territory,” Zelensky told journalists this week.Trump lashed out Zelensky on Wednesday, saying his position will “do nothing but prolong” the war.- Ukraine can’t join NATO -The United States could guarantee to Russia that Ukraine will never join NATO, Axios reported, noting that admission to the European Union would still remain a possibility.Blocking Ukraine from joining the military alliance has long been a demand of Putin.- Ukarine gets security guarantee -According to Axios, Ukraine would get a “robust security guarantee” involving an ad hoc group of European and potentially non-European countries. It does not specify how this peacekeeping operation would function, or if the United States would be involved, the outlet reported. – End Russia sanctions, reconstruct Ukraine -The Trump administration could lift long-standing sanctions on Russia under a future agreement, Axios and the Washington Post reported, citing the US proposals submitted to Ukrainian officials. Axios stated that Ukraine would get compensation and assistance for post-war rebuilding, but did not specify how this would be funded. – US gets Ukraine minerals -The US plan refers to a Trump-backed proposal that would give the United States royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals, Axios reported.Trump has framed the minerals deal as compensation for military and financial aid given to Kyiv by his predecessor, Joe Biden.Axios said the US president also wants the United States to operate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the largest such facility in Europe. Zelensky has rejected this idea.burs-ld/tq/ph/ev/bjt/sms

Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday that the United States would “walk away” unless Russia and Ukraine agree a peace deal, as envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for downgraded talks in Britain.”We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters in India.US media reported that President Donald Trump was ready to accept recognition of annexed land in Crimea as Russian territory, and Vance said land swaps would be fundamental to any deal.”That means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” he added.The reports said the proposal was first raised at a meeting with European nations in Paris last week.But French President Emmanuel Macron’s office told AFP on Wednesday that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans”.The latest round of diplomacy comes after a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said Wednesday.Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.In light of the attacks, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an “immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire”.In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.- ‘Work for peace’ -UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of foreign ministers in London on Wednesday but his ministry said the talks had been downgraded to “official level” — a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it has not yet been possible to reconcile positions on any issues, which is why this meeting did not take place”.US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg was still expected to attend, as was Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne.Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelensky, said he had arrived in London with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who was “likely” to meet Lammy.”Despite everything, we will work for peace,” Yermak wrote on Telegram.A Ukraine presidency source later told AFP that the delegation would meet Kellogg, and “there will be more meetings with Europeans”.US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.According to the Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin told Witkoff he was prepared to halt the invasion and freeze the current front line if Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, was recognised.Peskov responded by saying that “a lot of fakes are being published at the moment”, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.Zelensky said Tuesday that his country would be ready for direct talks with Russia only after a ceasefire, though the Kremlin has said it cannot rush into a ceasefire deal.Trump promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours but has since failed to secure concessions from Putin to halt his troops in Ukraine.He said at the weekend he hoped an agreement could be struck “this week”.- Trump ‘frustrated’ -Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had presented a US plan to end the war and discussed it with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a phone conversation after the Paris meeting last week. Both Rubio and Trump have warned since that the United States could walk away from peace talks unless it saw quick progress.In response to the US ultimatums, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters “it has to be up to Ukraine to decide its future” and “we will never walk away from Ukraine”.Rubio had said in Paris he would go to London if he thought his attendance could be useful.But Lammy wrote on X late Tuesday that he had instead had a “productive call” with Rubio.Trump proposed an unconditional ceasefire in March, the principle of which was accepted by Kyiv but rejected by Putin.The White House welcomed a separate agreement by both sides to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days but the Kremlin has said it considers that moratorium to have expired.

Donald Trump’s tariff plans have increased the risks to public finances, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday, warning countries to get their spending plans under control and prepare for “sharper” trade-offs.The US president’s on-again, off-again introduction of levies against top trading partners has sent market volatility soaring and unnerved investors, who are attempting to chart a path through the increased uncertainty.Over the past six months, “global economic prospects have significantly deteriorated, and risks to the economic output are elevated and tilted to the downside” Vitor Gaspar, the head of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs department, told reporters on Wednesday at the launch of the Fund’s Fiscal Monitor report. The forecast for public finances was published as part of the Fund and the World Bank’s Spring Meetings of global financial leaders currently under way in Washington.Under its new projections, which incorporate some — but not all — of the recently announced tariffs, the IMF now expects global general government debt to rise to more than 95 percent of economic output this year, and to approach 100 percent of GDP by 2030.In the forecasts, the IMF expects public debt to rise by about the same amount as the combined increases seen in 2023 and 2024, Gaspar told AFP in an interview ahead of the report’s publication.”There is a pronounced trend in public debt around the world,” he said.- ‘Heightened uncertainty’ -The IMF warned in its report that the “heightened uncertainty” about tariffs and economic policy, combined with rising bond yields in major economies, widening spreads in emerging markets, foreign aid cuts, and increased defense spending in Europe had all complicated the global debt outlook.”Fiscal policy now faces a sharper trade-off between reducing debt, building buffers against uncertainties and accommodating spending pressures, all amidst weaker growth prospects, higher financing costs, and heightened risks,” it added. While public spending levels may pose political challenges, the right policy can also “be a source of confidence and support in potentially very demanding macroeconomic circumstances,” Gaspar told AFP. “Communities may be severely affected by trade dislocations, and targeted and temporary support… could be a way forward,” he added. – Different paths -The IMF expects that more than a third of the world’s economies, who collectively account for 75 percent of global GDP, will see a rise in indebtedness this year. This includes many of the world’s largest economies, including the United States, China, Germany, Britain, and France. But these countries will face very different realities when it comes to handling that debt, Gaspar said in the interview.”Both China and the United States are continental economies,” he said. “They have a space that other economies don’t have.””The United States has an ample set of options, both on the revenue side and on the spending side, that it can deploy to control the deficit, stabilize the level of public debt and decrease the level of public debt, if it chooses to do so,” he added. “How it’s going to happen depends on… the choices made in the context of the US political system,” he said. For China, Gaspar noted that the authorities would “eventually” need to tackle its public debt, but should focus their attention at this moment in time on providing targeted support to transform the economy. “Fiscal support in China is welcome right now,” he said. “It is something that helps rebalancing China growth towards the domestic economy.””By doing so, it helps reduce the external imbalance.”