Interview: China's economic forum to promote int'l trade cooperation, says scholar

ISTANBUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China is exploring practical ways to promote trade and investment cooperation with a focus on a higher level of openness through an international economic forum in Shanghai, a Turkish scholar said.

Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the Hongqiao International Economic Forum will help make economic globalization open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.

The Hongqiao Forum was launched in 2018 as a significant part of the China International Import Expo (CIIE). The theme of the 5th Hongqiao Forum this year is "Stimulation of Global Opening-up Impetus and Sharing of Cooperation Opportunities."

In Colakoglu's view, the world has entered a stage of opening up in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era but is facing a series of financial challenges; the forum carries the potential to heal these wounds.

"Now the world is opening up, there is a normalization for economic ties," he said, noting that difficulties remain for a global economic recovery.

With the forum, "China has drawn some road maps on how to normalize the economies, increase the economic cooperation and eliminate the difficulties and challenges for the world in general," said Colakoglu.

Colakoglu said that China is crucial in increasing cooperation between the Global North and the Global South and pushing the latter's development.

"All these developments show that China has an agenda to reach a fully normalized economic relationship in the world and fully normalized cooperation in the post-pandemic period with these initiatives and international economic forums," he said.

Since its establishment, the Hongqiao Forum has attracted thousands of guests, including representatives from international political, business and academic communities.

The 5th CIIE, a six-day event scheduled to conclude on Thursday in China's economic hub Shanghai, provides a platform for companies worldwide to display their products, promote their brands and find more business partners in the world's second-largest economy.