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A prominent Chinese banker says authorities in China need to let more companies fail as the country adapts to a new age of slower economic growth.
Concerns about China's economy have hammered financial markets this year and are at the top of the agenda for many participants at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Zhang Yichen, CEO of CITIC Capital, says Chinese authorities are protecting state companies from downsizing, which is a politically delicate issue when it involves job cuts. That makes it harder for the private sector to grow. He told a panel in Davos that to solve the country's problem of overcapacity "we should let some (state-owned companies) fail."
He argued that the Chinese currency will not drop as sharply as some fear because China has strong underlying public finances.
Nouriel Roubini, an economist from New York University, claimed investors' reaction in recent weeks was overdone: "Markets tend to be manic depressive — going from excessive optimism to excessive pessimism."
That said, the longer Chinese authorities delay reforms, such as shrinking some state-owned companies, the higher the risk of the downturn becoming painful.
4:00 p.m.
Iran's foreign minister says his country does not want a confrontation with Saudi Arabia, and there's "no need" for Saudi Arabia to panic about recent heightened tensions.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that Iran's Saudi neighbors "need to realize confrontation is in the interest of nobody."
He said he was asked to break relations with Saudi Arabia as tensions mounted between their governments following an arson attack earlier this month on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. But Zari said, "I refused." He did not say who had asked him.
Zarif, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, urged regional cooperation to combat Islamic State extremists.
1:45 p.m.
Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg says the world won't change for the good if only men continue to rule the roost.
Speaking at a panel on the first full day of deliberations at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sandberg said the gender gap in business and government needs to be dealt with.
She says "men still run the world and I'm not sure it's going that well."
Sandberg, the only woman on a panel of six, also said Facebook will use its "Safety Check" more regularly in the future when necessary.
During the Paris attacks in November, the feature was used widely by people wanting to tell their friends and families they were ok. Originally intended for natural disasters, the feature was also used widely in April's devastating earthquake in Nepal.
1:25 p.m.
In an AP interview, Iran's foreign minister is decrying what he calls the United States' "addiction to coercion" with its new sanctions against Iran over ballistic missile tests.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the new US sanctions 'illegal' and justified Iran's program as self-defense. He spoke to The Associated Press ahead of an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was expected to take part in a debate focusing on the Islamic Republic.
The United States on Sunday imposed sanctions against 11 individuals and entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program as a result of Tehran's firing of a medium-range ballistic missile. The new punishment came one day after the Obama administration lifted economic penalties against Iran over its nuclear program.
12:30 p.m.
The president of Germany says that limiting the number of refugees entering Europe is necessary and "morally acceptable" if the continent is to continue to provide help to those in need.
While stressing the "humanitarian responsibility" of taking in victims of persecution, Joachim Gauck told a conference in Davos, Switzerland, that Germany and European countries must limit the numbers of people who want to come in to avoid being overwhelmed.
He cited the risk of some countries in the European Union wanting to re-establish borders within the 28-nation bloc, as security issues grow over the lack of checks. He said the EU's rules on freedom of movement throughout the bloc "can only be guaranteed if movement is controlled at the external borders."
The flow of millions of people, mainly from war-torn Syria, in recent months has put huge pressure on European countries to shut their borders and limit entries. The issue has become a hot topic and been used by populist politicians, some of whom favor closing national borders within the EU.
Gauck said that without limits on migration, the problem would grow and feed more populist movements, in turn creating even greater limits on Germany's ability to welcome those in need.