The escalating commerce conflict between the U.S. and China has buyers on edge, fearing it may mark the start of the top for international cooperation as we all know it. On Friday, President Donald Trump known as China’s new export controls “terribly aggressive” and “hostile”; he threatened a retaliatory 100% tariff. (He later sought to deescalate the state of affairs, calming U.S. markets.)
For Kristalina Georgieva, head of the Worldwide Financial Fund, it’s simply one other day within the workplace. Talking at Fortune’s Most Highly effective Ladies 2025 summit in Washington, D.C., she downplayed any fears of a commerce warfare.
“Frankly, this factor that commerce is useless is totally overstated,” Georgieva instructed Fortune’s Diane Brady. “Commerce is like water. You set [up an] impediment, it goes round it.”
And whereas Georgieva acknowledges the world is turning into “foggier” and stuffed with uncertainty, one of many greatest challenges comes from getting buy-in that cooperation is healthier than division: “We’re on this one huge boat. It’s a tough sea. We higher row collectively.”
Fortunately, many international locations already subscribe to this philosophy. She identified that following the onset of U.S. tariffs earlier this yr, 188 out of the IMF’s 191 member states didn’t select to retaliate. As a substitute, they’ve turned to regional companions for commerce. Southeast Asia and the Gulf area are two examples she cited.
Even China has benefited from diversifying its commerce portfolio: general exports rose 8.3% in September—the best whole this yr—because of robust commerce progress with the European Union. Chinese language shipments to the U.S. fell 27% in September, marking half a yr of double-digit commerce declines, in accordance with information launched by the Basic Administration of Customs.
However for enterprise leaders, there’s a rising alternative to be a grounding voice so long as they’re prepared to “buckle up,” Georgieva added.
“Excellent news for the world. The non-public sector is extra agile, extra adaptable,” she stated. “Over the past years, now we have seen in lots of international locations the place there was [a] huge state presence within the economic system—together with due to IMF urging them to tug again—extra non-public sector initiative. And on this time of robust winds, [business leaders] are an anchor of stability since you adapt, you simply maintain doing it.”
For feminine enterprise leaders, specifically, she reiterated the necessity to all the time be serious about worst case eventualities—and be able to adapt to them.
“Consider the unthinkable so that you’re prepared when the unthinkable comes,” Georgieva stated. “As a result of we all know from COVID, we all know from the warfare in Europe, it would come, and we girls are so robust and resilient, and we are able to face it.”
