"The key thing is to make sure China is engaged at the global level. This is why I think including the RMB (the Chinese currency) in SDR (the IMF's Special Drawing Rights) was an important step because it makes very clear that China is part of the global financial architecture," he said.
Alberto Ades, co-head of global Economics Research of Merrill Lynch in New York, said "as China's economy slows down, the composition of economic activities is shifting: manufacture and construction are slowing, while the service sector is doing pretty well."
"It is important for China and also the countries that trade with China. The beneficiary of the renewed cycle of China will be the United States, countries in the European Union and in Asia," he said.
Luc said "over the past two years, though Chinese economic growth has slowed down, Vietnam-China trade relations have maintained good growth, with an average increase of 14 percent year-on-year."
Sino-African cooperation can be also exemplary for win-win situation. Under the economic "new normal," China prioritizes the manufacturing sector in its industrial cooperation with Africa to help the continent break from its colonial legacy of being a net exporter of raw materials and become an exporter of finished products and services.
The Chinese government has also rolled out about 900 assistance programs in Africa covering agriculture, health, education and other fields and offered training to over 30,000 local people since 2012.
NEW EFFORTS IN COMMON DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy struggles to recover, China has been working vigorously to address challenges by proposing and promoting fresh initiatives.
Such proposals have injected new impetus into the world economy. The most conspicuous of them include the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives (the Belt and Road Initiative), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank for BRICS which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by Chinese President Xi during his overseas visits in 2013 with an aim to connect Asian, European and African countries more closely, has received warm responses from and active participation by over 60 countries and international organizations.
"It's a very important initiative," said Pieter P. Bottelier, a senior adjunct professor of China studies at the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.
"You provide infrastructure first and then development will come. Without infrastructure no sustainable development can happen," he said, adding that China has large capital and "so much experience in infrastructure construction not just in roads, bridges, but also in equipment, especially high-speed trains and ordinary trains."
Xi said at the APEC summit held in the Philippines in November that "through implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, we will go for even broader, deeper and more sophisticated cooperation at the regional level, and jointly foster a regional framework of open, inclusive, balanced and mutually beneficial cooperation."
Collyns said "it's certainly appropriate for China to increase its role as a provider of capital in key areas."
"Increasing infrastructure investment in Asia is a very important objective. That will benefit not just China but also benefit neighboring countries who need more infrastructure investments for being able to grow," he said.
