Xi says China will continue to be 'biggest engine' of world economic growth

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday China has full confidence to achieve this year's economic growth target and will continue to play its role as the biggest engine of world economic growth.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with heads of major international economic organizations, who are here to attend the "1+10" dialogue.

The foreign dignitaries included President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga, and Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

CHINA GROWTH

Xi briefed the guests on the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, especially the important measures recently adopted by China. He said that after more than 40 years of sustained and rapid development, the Chinese economy has ushered in a phase of high-quality development, contributing around 30 percent to the world economic growth.

China will further opening-up to the outside world, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment to provide more opportunities for and share more development dividends with other countries, he said.

China is willing to maintain dialogue, expand cooperation and manage differences with the US government, and push bilateral relations forward in the direction of steady, healthy and sustainable development, Xi said, expressing the hope that the US side will work with China in the same direction.

"Tariff wars, trade wars and sci-tech wars go against the trend of history and the laws of economics, and there will be no winners," he said.

Noting the progress in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) over the past decade, Xi welcomed international economic organizations to continue actively participating in the BRI cooperation and promote the modernization of all countries that features peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity.

"Amid world's efforts to revitalize globalization and boost economic recovery, the fact that these major international economic organizations choose to engage with China speaks volumes for the world's recognition of China's international role and the need to cooperate with China," said Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

CHINA INSPIRATION

The foreign guests hailed China's remarkable achievements, particularly in reducing poverty and fostering new quality productive forces, saying China's people-centered development philosophy has been proven to be both successful and practical and offers inspiration for the world.

China has continued to comprehensively deepen reform, expand opening-up and achieve high-quality development, providing tremendous opportunities for the world, especially countries in the Global South, they said.

They noted that the BRI, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative have fully demonstrated China's role as a responsible major country and provided an important platform for countries in the Global South to achieve their own development.

Amid global economic challenges and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, countries around the world are looking to China with hope and belief that it will remain a key engine of global economic growth, they said.

Researcher Chen said that discussions at this year's "1+10" dialogue have also become more representative and comprehensive, with more focus on trade, development, financing, infrastructure and other issues of prominent significance to all countries especially the Global South countries in the post-pandemic era.

CHINA SOLUTION

China is ready to work with the major international economic organizations to practice multilateralism, promote international cooperation, and support the development of Global South countries, so as to advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and build a just world of common development, Xi said.

Xi pointed out that to bring the world economy onto a path of strong and sustainable growth, it is imperative to build an open world economy through cooperation, drive development through innovation, seize the important opportunities of the digital economy, artificial intelligence and low-carbon technologies, and foster new sources of economic growth.

He urged support for cross-border flow of knowledge, technology and talent, adding that building "small yard with high fences", decoupling and disrupting supply chains bring harm to others without benefiting oneself.

Xi stressed that international economic organizations need to actively engage in and push for reforms of the global economic governance system to make it more just and equitable and reflective of the changing world economic landscape, with greater representation and voice of Global South countries.

"Some consensus has been reached in this regard between various parties, and what is key now is to turn vision into reality," Xi said, calling for upholding true multilateralism and ensuring equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules for all countries.