China's high-quality development to have positive spillover effects

GUANGZHOU,China,April 20,2023 -- China's pursuit of high-quality development will produce notable positivespillover effects for the global economy,facilitating trade and contributingto global decarbonization efforts,according to participants at an ongoinginternational forum in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The conference,Understanding China -- Greater Bay Area Dialogue,themed"Chinese modernization and new opportunities for the world" and scheduled fromApril 18 to 20,has attracted celebrated figures from the global political,academic and economic communities,from both home and abroad.

Fred Hu,chairman of Primavera Capital Group,said that China's high-qualitydevelopment is of great significance to promoting production and foreign trade,and ensuring the security of the global supply chain.

"China's economic strength has improved significantly over 40 years of rapidgrowth,and now it has assumed an increasingly bigger role in the worldeconomy," Hu said.

He cited the fact that China's gross domestic product accounted for 18.5percent of the global total in 2021,much higher than the 7.7 percentregistered in 2001.

Gordon Brown,former prime minister of the United Kingdom,also acknowledgedChina's contribution to the global economy,saying that the country's rapidgrowth is something that any Western finance minister "can only dream of".

Along with its economic takeoff,China has now become a major trading partnerfor more than 140 countries and regions,cementing its position as the largestcountry in global trade in goods,Hu noted.

The country's rise within the global trade system is supported not only by itsbig population,vast territory and large economic scale,but also its enablingbusiness environment and institutional arrangements made in the form of tradeagreements,Hu said.

Singapore's Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong echoed Hu's words,predicting that ASEAN will seize the opportunities arising from China'scontinued growth by upgrading the ASEAN-China free-trade agreement.

A substantive upgrade to the agreement will pave the way for deeper regionaleconomic integration and a stronger rules-based multilateral trading system,Goh said.

Looking forward,Hu said he believes that China's continuous efforts inexpanding opening-up will boost the confidence of overseas businesses and forgemore stable and sustainable trade and investment ties.

Another important part of China's high-quality development is greendevelopment,which Hu believes means achieving zero carbon emission goals assoon as possible and acting as a bellwether in addressing climate change.

Laurence Tubiana,chief executive officer of the European Climate Foundation,said that China is now a global champion of clean energy.

The country's pursuit of the dual carbon goals,its pace of deployment ofrenewable energy and the development of electrical vehicles are all verypromising signs,Tubiana added.

"The world needs China to make decarbonization affordable,and that's whatChina has done in the past for a good number of clean energies," said Tubiana.

China should complete the energy transition at an early date,furtherconsolidate its position as a global leader in climate change response andpromote the sustainable development of the world,according to Hu.

To that end,China should leverage green technology,scale up support fordecarbonization and green finance,and increase the share of renewables in theenergy mix,Hu said.