Interview: China's economic resilience key to driving global recovery, says Malaysian analyst

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to play a vital role in pushing ahead global economic recovery with its resilience, commitment to multilateralism, and promotion of free trade, said a Malaysian analyst.

Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser for Malaysia's Pacific Research Center, said the country's recovery from the unprecedented pandemic acts as a booster to the world economy, which sparks discussion in the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Noting China's shift from quantitative growth to qualitative improvement, Oh said the move is extremely crucial for the nation to sustain its economic development in the long run.

"I think the resilience of China's economic growth, even in the phase of adverse international circumstances, can be attributed to a large extent to the hard work of the Chinese people and business-friendly policies by its authorities," he told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Oh said the consistency and close coordination of China's policies in laying out incentives and comprehensive packages boost the confidence of investors who want to expand their businesses in China.

"China's experience in this regard could be accumulated by a lot of other developing countries in attracting foreign investments," Oh added.

Speaking of the ongoing WEF 2022 Annual Meeting, which focuses on the unprecedented global challenges, including post-pandemic recovery, the Ukraine crisis and climate change, Oh said that trust is needed to accelerate the collaboration between countries in addressing those challenges.

"We require a lot of global cooperation and multilateral assistance, especially from the developed to the developing nations ... I think it is time to re-embrace, for example, free trade," he said.

With regard to cooperation under the frameworks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Belt and Road Initiative, Oh said China, the world's second largest economy, has been consistent in advocating the concept of multilateralism and the practice of free trade.