China: IMF wants China to review trade restrictions for global economy
Hong
Kong: As a key growth driver, China should review its trade and investment
restrictions for improving the global economy, a senior International Monetary
Fund (IMF) official said on Monday. "China should be open to look at its
own restrictions on trade and investment, which have generated criticism from
some trading partners," IMF''s First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton
said at the Asian Financial Forum. According to IMF, China alone contributes to
a third of the global growth.
As
a trading partner to over 100 countries across the world that represent 80 per
cent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the ChineseAsuccess story is
linked to the world''s growth, Lipton said. "China plays an increasingly
important role in development aid and infrastructure finance, as epitomised by
the Belt and Road Initiative. "In terms of its global role, China has been
a voice of reason in the debate over trade and economic integration," he
said. The Belt and Road Initiative, unveiled by the Chinese government in 2013,
plans to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe
and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. With an important role in
globalisation, the country should look at its own "shortcomings" with
respect to trade policies, remarked Lipton. "It means protecting
intellectual property rights, reducing distortions of industrial policy,
overcapacity and policies that favour state enterprises," he said.
Better globalisation is in China''s own interest,
he said, adding that the Chinese government and its lenders, considering the
benefits of debt resolution, would ensure that the developing world does not
face a new debt crisis. "China needs to be alert to the discontent with
globalisation as it is currently configured and support a global economic order
for the future that will be widely embraced," he said. With growing
Foreign Direct Investments in China, the country should ensure the investments
are commercially viable, Lipton said. "China also needs to take account of
the impact from investments on governance, capacity building, sustainable
development and environmental protection."
Source: Ecns.cn, China
Wednesday, 17 January 2018