The Americans present things in a different way, but they too consider that price stability is a necessary condition for sustainable economic growth and job creation. Most Finance Ministers of the euro area countries and the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquín Almunia want regular discussions with the ECB. Does that bother you? The Treaty already arranges for precisely that. I myself invite Jean-Claude Juncker and Joaquín Almunia twice a month to attend the meetings of the Governing Council at the ECB, and I am invited to attend the meetings of the Eurogroup. As I have always said, we have to apply the whole Treaty and nothing but the Treaty. Is there really no political pressure? Everyone in Europe and the rest of the world knows that the ECB is independent, even on the major financial markets of New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. There is no doubt about that. The ECB's credibility, which stands at a very high level, relies on its independence. It is that independence which allows us to solidly anchor inflation expectations. Our credibility is reinforced by the strong team spirit within the Eurosystem – including our excellent relationship with the Bundesbank and its President Axel Weber – and within the ECB's Executive Board, which features of course my colleague Jürgen Stark. But in the view of many consumers, the introduction of the euro actually pushed up inflation. At the level of the euro area, we have had inflation under control since the introduction of the euro.
•  China growing at 6% today adds $ billion of GDP compared to $ billion that a smaller China growing by 10% added 10 years ago. •  China contributed to more than one-third of world GDP growth last year, more than the combined contributions of the US, Europe and Japan. Addressing vulnerabilities Against this backdrop of moderating growth, China is also faced with the task of addressing vulnerabilities in its economy and financial system. The chief risk is leverage – both its level and its growth. •  According to the BIS, China’s credit-to-GDP ratio stands at around 250%, having risen by 100% points since end-2008. Nearly 70% of that increase is attributable to corporate debt. •  There are concerns that part of the corporate borrowing has been used to pay off existing loans, rather than being channelled towards productive activities. •  Many of the Chinese firms having difficulty servicing their debt are from the heavy industry sector facing excess capacity. China has the fiscal resources to backstop its financial sector’s liabilities and thereby stave off a systemic financial crisis. But the debt overhang will weigh on corporate investment and present a further headwind to growth. Indeed, with continuing producer price deflation, the real debt burden will keep rising, even as profitability falls. In a good scenario, the debt ratio stabilises at the current level, and then gradually declines as nominal GDP rises faster than credit; in other words, China grows out of its debt problem.