Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers says the US economy remains “very, very hot,” albeit less than it was six or twelve months ago.
During the Caixin Asia New Vision Forum in Singapore, Summers said that today the United States is “a country with core inflation between 4.5 and 5%”.
However, Summers cautioned that “soft landings” represent “the triumph of hope over experience” and that commercial real estate is an area where there are likely to be “hotbeds of suffering.”
Summers, a professor at Harvard University, also stressed the importance of strengthening ties between the United States and China, calling for greater cooperation between the two powers on global issues, including climate change and low-income country debt .
According to Summers, both the United States and China would benefit from greater interdependence and integration between the two countries, rather than detachment from each other. “Ultimately, the best guarantee of peace is for each of our companies to have a broad interest in the success of the other,” concluded the former Treasury Secretary.