WASHINGTON (AP) — Global finance leaders are defending globalization against an assault from President Donald Trump and European populists. They argue that blocking free trade would hobble economic growth instead of saving jobs from foreign competition.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told journalists that freer trade and more openness were "critical for the future of the world."

Christine Lagarde is managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Lagarde says the answer to the wave of populism gaining support in many countries is to work for "more growth and better growth" in the world economy.

Lagarde and Kim spoke at the opening of three days of discussions among global finance leaders representing the 189 countries that are members of the IMF and its sister lending organization, the World Bank.