The weekend agreement to establish “multilateral surveillance” and “multilateral consultations” to address global trade imbalances may not sound like a breakthrough. The terms are steeped in jargon and the International Monetary Fund lacks the power to force changes to individual countries’ domestic economic policies unless they are forced to borrow from it.

But even the most sceptical finance ministers and central bank governors viewed the IMF meeting as a great success. There was finally a shared understanding that huge trade gaps represent the biggest threat to the world economy, they said and a willingness to do something about them.