Solution for global problems lies in governance
Globalization still faces multiple risks, and to overcome them, countries should deepen integrative cooperation, experts said Tuesday at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia. [Special coverage]
There are several risks involved in globalization - trade frictions, restricted global investment, financial risks and imbalanced development, as well as weak global governance, Gu Xueming, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, told a session of the Boao Forum, which is being held in South China's Hainan Province.
The main problem is unequal income distribution, but this is caused by these countries' domestic policies and globalization should not be blamed, Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said at the session.
Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank Vice President Stephen Groff said that some unemployment in industrial economies is caused by improved automation, not globalization.
For example, in many industries, automation replaces jobs, but studies have shown that many new jobs will emerge, Groff said.
Internal flaws in the market mechanism are the origin of problems created by globalization, Qian said.
"The solution lies in our governance capability - domestic policy design and international economic coordination and governance," he noted, suggesting that certain countries should reflect on their domestic policies.
"In fact, globalization has greatly reduced wealth inequality among countries. But the internal wealth gap is enlarging in some countries, including China, which is a result of these economies' own domestic policies," WTO Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun said at the session.
To overcome the challenges of globalization, countries should deepen integrative cooperation, and the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative is working in this direction, Yi said.
"We need a rebalancing mechanism to solve the [wealth] distribution problem," Zhang Yansheng, a research fellow with the China Center for International Economic Exchange, said at the same session, noting that "China hopes to facilitate open and inclusive globalization by reducing the urban-rural gap, regional gap and residents' income gap, as well as global imbalances."
Experts at the session also talked about trade tensions between China and the U.S., demanding that countries peacefully solve disputes under the framework of the multilateral trade system.
Robert Koopman, chief economist at the WTO, expressed his concern over the trade dispute, saying verbal confrontation and actions between members is a violation of WTO rules.
