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Time to think globally

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-05 07:49

When Chinese lawmakers begin to hear and review the government work report Premier Wen Jiabao delivers today, they will customarily focus on the broad implications of what the government did last year and what it plans to do this year.

A careful examination by the top legislature is absolutely necessary to ensure that the massive stimulus package submitted for approval is effective.

However, rising to the challenge of the deepening global financial crisis and economic downturn requires more than a sound domestic outlook.

Deputies to the 11th National People's Congress must also consider an adequate Chinese response to the global crisis that leads to quick and joint solutions by all countries.

On the one hand, the international community is pinning high hopes on the Chinese economy to pull the world out of recession by restoring its own heady growth rates and demand for imports.

As the world's third-largest economy, China's sound and relatively fast growth will surely affect how quickly the world recovers.

On the other hand, the success of China's stimulus package will also depend on how well the world survives the current crisis.

If the international community cannot act with speed and in coordination to prevent the worsening financial crisis from taking a much bigger toll on the world economy, China's chances of early recovery will be slim.

The increasing interconnection between the Chinese economy and the rest of the world has made it more necessary than ever for Chinese authorities to weigh domestic priorities and international implications together.

While paying close attention to how the government can make the toughest year of the new millennium an opportunity to improve the social security net and accelerate structural reforms for sustainable growth, Chinese lawmakers should also seek and promote consensus on what a new role the country will assume in a global landscape to be reshaped by the worst global financial crisis in many decades.

For instance, when examining the government's fiscal stimulus, it is worth asking how policymakers will tap into the country's US$2 trillion foreign exchange reserves to boost domestic demand. Obviously, a surge of imports or increased outward investment can benefit the domestic and foreign economies quite differently.

The Chinese economy will continue to serve as a key locomotive for the world. But it is high time lawmakers think hard about how it can grow in a way that not only can be sustained domestically but also helps tackle global trade and economic imbalances.

(China Daily 03/05/2009 page9)