France tells US not to undermine global growth policies

French finance minister Michel Sapin said he and other ministers from leading economies had told US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin it was "unthinkable" that globally agreed policies in areas such as trade and financial regulation could be weakened.

Sapin told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Seven economies on Friday that policies could be adjusted as the world economy changed.

"But it is unthinkable, and it will not happen, that one can destroy these collective achievements that give more stability and more ability to grow and which at the end of the day are truly in everyone's interests," he said.

The G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Italy are hoping to get a better sense of the plans of US President Donald Trump who has threatened to upset the international consensus of recent decades on issues such as trade, foreign exchange and climate change.