Interview: More cooperation with China needed to address global trade challenges, says head of Int'l Chamber of Commerce

GENEVA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- More cooperation with China is needed to address the most pressing challenges against global trade, said the head of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), voicing optimism about China's economic outlook.

China plays a key role in global trade and is expected to ensure the level of global cooperation for its own economic development as well as that of its neighbors, and other regions within the global economy, said John Denton, who is also a board member of the United Nations Global Compact.

China has set a GDP target of around 5 percent for 2023, according to a government work report released in March. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its projection for China's economic growth in 2023 to 5.2 percent.

Echoing the optimism about the outlook of China's economy, Denton said that there doesn't seem to be an impact of inflation at the moment and the consumers are buying again, "that's actually driving things of course, which will cross borders as well."

However, Denton is "cautiously optimistic" about the outlook of global trade. "I mean caution is here. The numbers are good when you actually look at them raw. But put in context, we're still not at the same levels as pre-COVID," he said.

According to the World Trade Organization, global merchandise trade volume is projected to grow 1.7 percent in 2023 before picking up to 3.2 percent in 2024. But risks to the forecast are tilted to the downside, including geopolitical tensions, food insecurity, potential financial instability stemming from monetary policy tightening, and increasing levels of debt.

"We need to get the trade volumes up. There are many things that can be done about international cooperation," said Denton, "Let's leverage the power of international trade and start doing things that increase cooperation in order to get goods and services across borders."

"It's important to understand that a lot of the economic and trade growth is still coming out of Asia Pacific," he added.

The Paris-based ICC was founded in 1919 in the aftermath of World War I with the aim of making it easier for businesses to trade internationally and promoting open international trade and investment systems. It now has over 45 million members in over 170 countries.