Interview: China's economic recovery conducive to global growth -- Rwandan economist

KIGALI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- As what happens in China has a huge impact on the rest of the world, China's economic recovery holds great significance for global economic growth, said a Rwandan economic policy analyst, adding that the Chinese economy has remained resilient and has recorded an impressive economic recovery due to its COVID measures optimization.

China is among the first countries to have recovered from the pandemic, as China's goods and technology exports have resumed and international travels have restarted in China. All these are indicative of a strong economic recovery, said Teddy Kaberuka, regional director of Britain-based international consultancy firm M4Progress Limited.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted global supply chains and industrial production, and created high levels of unemployment, but China has positioned itself as a hub of industrialization where massive production can be continued at an affordable cost, helping maintain its economic growth and employment, as well as attract foreign direct investments to China.

China has built a very reliable and conducive business relationship with other countries, which facilitates China's trade with others and keeps its factories open, and also allows China to purchase materials in different categories to produce for different markets according to their demands, said the economist. "It is a unique aspect of Chinese industrialization."

In his eyes, China has one of the best industrializations so far, "because every year the country invests a lot in research and development. Even in the most recent report, China invested more than 2.5 percent of its GDP in research and development, which indicates that the country still wants to position itself in the future industrialization process."

Heavy investment in technology innovation and research and development will enable China to keep its global trade robust, according to Kaberuka.

China's growth target of around 5 percent for the current year is "very realistic," he said, adding that the improvement of the investment environment and the entire value chain of investments made China more attractive to foreign investment than anywhere else. "I am sure next year the Chinese economic growth will be much better than it is now."

Over the past five years, China's GDP registered an annual average growth rate of more than 5 percent, higher than the global average. In the past decade, the country's GDP doubled, cementing its position as the biggest contributor to global growth, he said.

The Rwandan analyst also noted that China is playing a key role in infrastructure development on the African continent through huge infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road cooperation. Chinese investments in Africa are benefiting local economies because the investments are driving the growth of African countries' manufacturing sector, which will reduce their imports and increase exports.

"China is playing a very significant role in wealth creation in African markets and in alleviating poverty in general. China's involvement is immense and is based on a win-win situation," Kaberuka emphasized.