International community confident about long-term sound economic growth of China

By People’s Daily

China has the capability to triumph over the challenges amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, said former foreign dignitaries, international experts and scholars, as well as heavyweights from the finance sector during interviews with People’s Daily.

They noted that China, as the “world’s factory” and the “world’s market”, enjoys enormous economic resilience and potential, and they are confident about the country’s long-term sound economic growth.  

China has maintained an economic and social order that agrees with its efforts to fight the COVID-19 in the recent days, and facilitated orderly resumption of work and production across the country. It is now seeing gradual rebounding capacity of industries and smoother economic and social circulation.

Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf hailed the quick and powerful prevention and control measures taken by China to curb the spread of the virus and maintain social stability amid the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19. The country’s huge consumer market, potential for economic transformation, and effective policies will energize continued growth of its economy, Sharaf added.

Director of the Center of International Financial Management of Brazilian think tank Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) believes impact from the epidemic on Chinese economy is temporary and controllable, saying China is still one of the most competitive countries in the world.

He said the Chinese government has strong resolve and efforts to stabilize market expectations and boost market confidence in the sector of financial services, adding that China will surely turn crisis into opportunities, keep reducing the impact from the epidemic, and achieve its goals and tasks in economic and social development.

The epidemic will not cause radical impact on the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, as the latter is already enjoying a considerable scale effect, said Wichai Kinchong Choi, senior vice chairman of Kasikorn Bank (Thailand).

China, by taking dual approach on both epidemic prevention and economic development, has managed to minimize the epidemic’s impact on its economy, Choi explained.

Swiss investment bank UBS Group AG also believes that the novel coronavirus epidemic will not change the long-term economic development of China.

“We expect a sharp rebound in Chinese growth from 2Q onward based on pent-up demand and monetary and fiscal stimulus,” it said in a recent report, adding that the country’s growth momentum driven by domestic consumption remains unchanged, and global suppliers will not lose interest in the huge Chinese market.

Albert Keidel, a senior research fellow at U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, holds that the epidemic will not cast a shadow on the medium- and long-term growth of the Chinese economy, while the policies of the country to enhance urbanization and constantly improve infrastructure will still propel the economic growth of the country.

Observers of global economy found what come along with China’s economic pressure are huge potential and opportunities.

The nationwide efforts to fight the epidemic has given rise to new business models, such as the “homebody economy” and “cloud lifestyles” – something that enables people to have all their food, alcohol, clothing and entertainment brought to their doors. They have expanded new space for high-quality economic development, and will help upgrade the global industrial chain.

Consumption, and in particular online consumption driven by the digital economy, has been a primary diver for China’s economic growth over the years, said Sharaf.

The economy driven by internet and artificial intelligence technologies witnessed robust growth during the epidemic. Besides, online consumption has been playing an important part in supporting the real economy and e-commerce is becoming a mainstream business model on stable operation. The pent-up demand of consumers will finally be released when the epidemic is gradually contained, thus prompting further economic development of the country.

  

China plays an important role in the global supply, industrial, and value chains, as the country is not only the “world’s factory” and “world’s market”, but also an R&D base and innovation center, said Professor Dr. Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies of the Bangkok-based Panyapiwat Institute of Management.

The current epidemic brings both challenges and opportunities to the development of industries, Tang said, explaining that the “homebody economy” and “cloud lifestyles” are accelerating the country’s upgrading of industrial chains and emergence of new business models.

“The new business models not only boost the growth and transformation of the Chinese economy, but also play a significant role in promoting the upgrading of the global industrial chain,” he added.