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China plays responsible role in fight against global financial turmoil

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-01 15:49

Chinese President Hu Jintao left Beijing on Wednesday for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London, Britain, aiming to seek a viable solution to the global financial crisis and overhaul the current international financial order.

China,significant contributor to world economic growth

"As a responsible member in the international community, China has played a part in international cooperation to fight the crisis. China will continue to coordinate macro-economic policies with other countries and push for the reform of international financial system and help maintain multilateral trade system, in order to contribute to the recovery of the world economy," Hu told Xinhua on Tuesday.

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The Chinese president said that he would work with other participants to help the summit yield "positive" and "practical" results.

Observers in Beijing say that Hu's remarks explained China's stance on the summit and sent a message that China has been a responsible partner in efforts to combat the crisis.

The London summit will be held against the background of a worsening global economic situation. The World Bank on Tuesday painted a gloomy picture for the world economy, predicting that global growth would contract by 1.7 percent this year, the first decline since World War II.

The bank said in its Global Economic Prospects update that growth momentum will turn weakly positive in 2010 as financial-sector consolidation, lost wealth and knock-on effects from the financial crisis continue to dampen economic activity.

According to the bank, GDP growth in East Asia and the Pacific is expected to ease to 5.3 percent in 2009, as growth in China slumps to 6.5 percent and several smaller economies in the region, including Thailand, fall into recession.

However, Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank chief economist and senior vice president, looked a bit optimistic, saying that China is likely to achieve a GDP growth of 7 percent to 8 percent this year as it still has much room for stimulus.

If his prediction proves true, China's economy will contribute 20 percent to the world's economic growth this year, according to UN estimates.

China adopts multiple measures to help ride out crisis

Since last November, China has unveiled a series of measures to boost its economy. "Facing economic difficulties, China is working to solve problems from inside instead of passing them on to others," Zhang Bin, a research fellow with the Chinese Academies of Social Sciences, told Xinhua.

He said that by doing so, China is quite responsible for itself and the rest of the world.

In addition, China has lent a helping hand to many countries. It has provided assistance and support through a variety of means to a number of countries and regions since the G20 summit in Washington last November

China has signed bilateral currency swap agreements worth 580 billion yuan (about $85.3 billion) with different countries and regions and played a part in the creation of significant regional and global economic and trade initiatives, such as the Chiang Mai initiative and the International Finance Corporation's global trade finance program.

To demonstrate in practical deeds its opposition to trade protectionism, the Chinese government sent Chinese companies on procurement missions to Europe and made purchases worth 13.6 billion dollars.

China wrote off more than 40 billion yuan (about 5.85 billion dollars) worth of debts from 46 least developed countries by 2008, and its economic assistance to developing countries has exceeded 200 billion yuan (some 29.4 billion dollars).

It has pledged to eliminate all debts from least developed countries due by the end of last year, and promised to impose zero tariff on 95 percent of the products imported from these countries.

On the reform of the international financial system, China is proposing some new ideas, with a view to rolling back the global economic downturn.

Zhou Xiaochuan, China's central bank governor, said recently that a new super-sovereign reserve currency should replace national reserve currencies as the backbone of the global monetary system.

In response to Zhou's proposal, Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said that Russia and China "have similar positions" on the reform of the international financial system.

Both Russia and China have voiced support for the notion of a "supra-national reserve currency" and the two countries have held discussions over the issue, he said.

"Indeed, we have similar positions," Dvorkovich said, adding the London summit may initiate broad consultations over the issue.

Speaking of China's role in reshaping the international financial system, World Bank Vice President James Adams said that China would play an important part at the G20 summit in London.

"China has emerged as a very strong, important force in the global dialogue on key global economic and political issues today, " he said.