The Finance Minister is on his way to the United States for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank governors in Washington DC.
Bill English told Morning Report he hopes to gain insight from the chairman of America's Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, about the potential ramifications of the United States debt ceiling crisis.
He said it is important to attend the meetings to get the latest information about risks to the global economy from the top international experts.
"We'll get to hear about the problems with say the potential Chinese credit bubble, obviously the US shutdown and the debt ceiling argument.
"You know, we're a cork bobbing on the global ocean and this is where we find out about what waves might be coming."
Mr English also plans to meet with credit rating agencies to fill them in on how New Zealand is performing, and he will also speak with business leaders in Boston.
