Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday laid out his plan to lead global efforts in charting the course of economic globalization.[Special coverage]
Xi's address at the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland beamed the much-needed confidence into the global economy amid grave concerns over rising protectionism and uncertainties in the wake of Brexit and the election of next U.S. President Donald Trump.
CLARIFYING GLOBALIZATION
Though economic globalization has created new problems, this is no justification to write economic globalization off completely, said Xi,the first Chinese head of state to attend Davos meetings.
"Rather, we should adapt to and guide economic globalization, cushion its negative impact, and deliver its benefits to all countries and all nations," Xi told the audience led by WEF founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.
The Chinese president warned that any moves to turn back to protectionism runs against historical trend.
"Whether you like it or not, the global economy is the big ocean that you cannot escape from. Any attempt to cut off the flow of capital, technologies, products, industries and people between economies, and channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible." said Xi.
"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," Xi said.
The president called on the international community to face up to the problems caused by the globalization instead of dodging them.
"In the face of both opportunities and challenges of economic globalization, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization," he said.
The president pointed out the rise of China as the world's second largest economy is the result of its integration into the vast ocean of the global economy.
"We have had our fair share of choking in the water and encountered whirlpools and choppy waves, but we have learned how to swim in this process. It has proved to be a right strategic choice," he noted.
Honson To, Chairman at KPMG China, said Xi presented a clear case for an urgent and courageous response from global leaders.
"I was deeply moved by the strong sense of China's purpose as a responsible leader on the world stage," he said.
"I think it is very crucial that the Chinese President Xi clarified the concept to the world, to continue to promote globalization, to promote global development," said Justin Yifu Lin, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank.
A SOLID PLAN
Analyzing the root causes of the sluggish global economy and the problems for which globalization has been made the scapegoat, Xi pointed to a lack of robust driving forces for global growth, inadequate global economic governance, and uneven global development.
He stressed the importance of developing a dynamic innovation-driven growth model, a model of open and win-win cooperation featuring a well-coordinated and inter-connected approach, and a model of fair and equitable governance in keeping with the trend of the times, and a balanced, equitable and inclusive development model.
