Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) praised China’s economic achievements as well as its efficient and excellent preparation for the G20 Summit.

Gurria made the statements in an interview with the People’s Daily ahead of his attendance of the Hangzhou G20 Summit, adding that he expects the fruitful outcomes yielded from the meeting.

The OECD chief said that China scored a 6.7-percent-growth in the first six months, almost twice the world average.

As maintainer of high-speed-growth in the past years, China now remains the vital engine of the global economy, he commented, adding that such economic prosperity also boosts its competence in trade, investment and other sectors.

He further pointed out that China’son-going structural reform will secure the country’s prosperity and growth since more thorough reform will bring stronger growth.

Gurria said heappreciated the efforts and achievements made by China since it assumed the rotating presidency of the G20. After it took over the presidency from Turkey at the end of last year, China, with the courage to conquer challenges, has completed the multifarious and tough preparation work in less than a year, he added.

With outstanding leadership and professional teams from various fields, China, together with G20 members, OECD, International Monetary Fund, WTO and other international organizations, have made a content-rich agenda for the upcoming G20 Hangzhou Summit, the Secretary-General explained.

Gurria also stressed the importance of the openness and urged more policy coordination around the world.

Impacted by the low and even negative growth, some countries have shut their door and adopted protectionism, but they neglect the factthat sustained growth and prosperity can only be achieved through opening up, he said, pointing out that such isolation or prohibitory tariffs will only bring short-lived growth.

He further explained that the rising protectionism now blocks the implementation of free trade agreements. “Only cooperation and opening up could get the world through the hardships,”Gurria told the People’s Daily.

The OECD chief also gave his own understanding of the theme of this year’s G20 Summit, namely “Towards and innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy”.

Seeing“innovation” as a key engine driving development, he believed innovation in a broader horizon is the propeller of world economy, and such innovation will pave more paths for economic growth.

Innovation should not confined to new inventions or lab research, but expand to the Internet, education, regulatory mechanisms and other fields, he further explained, adding that in order to improve production efficiency through innovation, efforts of both the governments and enterprises need to be pooled together.

Gurria called on all G20 members to earnestly implement the summit outcomes, saying that if so, they could get multiple benefits. “As a rule maker, G20 has a worldwide influence,” he said.

Citing theOECD’s belief that good policies can lead to good lives, he believed that G20 Hangzhou Summit will certainly be a success.