Photo: Xinhua/Lian Yi Pictured is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China plays a key role in promoting global economic growth, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. The WTO chief stressed China's key role in promoting world trade and global economic growth, saying, "Whatever happens to China has an impact on the whole world and it is in everyone's interest that the Chinese economy thrives."
"China has always been able to come up with tools to help stimulate the economy, and we fully expect that the government still has room to do quite a lot do ," Okonjo-Iweala said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua news agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday.
Thanks to some of the measures China has already taken, she said, it is expected that the Chinese economy "will be able to start growing".
Since joining the WTO more than 20 years ago, China has become the world's largest trader of goods and a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, contributing an average of nearly 30 percent to the annual growth of the world economy.
Okonjo-Iweala stressed China's key role in promoting world trade and global economic growth: 'Whatever happens to China has an impact on the whole world, so it is in everyone's interest that the Chinese economy thrives.'
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP will show 5.2 % annual growth in 2023, reflecting a strong recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. "China plays a very important role and we would like to see the Chinese economy fully recover as this will boost global trade. It will support global growth. It's not just about China itself, it's also about the rest of the world," she said.
WORLD TRADE OUTLOOK
Last October, the Geneva-based World Trade Organization said trade in goods would grow by only 0.8 % in 2023, up from an estimated 1.7 % in April. For this year, it forecasts a 3.3 percent growth in trade in goods.
"Last year we forecast world trade growth of 0.8 per cent, a year when world trade in goods was a little weak in terms of performance. For 2024, we were more optimistic, forecasting that 3.3 per cent growth," Okonjo-Iweala said.
"But given the problems we've seen in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and the higher container shipping, transportation and insurance costs we're seeing, we think it will have an impact," she added.
"Aggregate demand is generally declining and may decline further, which will have an impact. We believe our forecast of 3.3 % is too optimistic for this year," she added.
CHALLENGES TO MULTILATERALISM
Okonjo-Iweala praised China's role in defending the multilateral trading system, saying, "China is a strong supporter of the multilateral trading system and multilateralism from the WTO perspective." She added that China was not only a participant in the multilateral trading system but also a defender of it.
"We hope that this will continue to be the case and that China will continue to be a strong member in the future, which will also help the WTO to address some of the emerging global trade issues," she said.
Okonjo-Iweala also called on WTO members to abide by global trade rules "under which we would like to see everyone working together within the multilateral system".
Every member of the organisation should work within the framework of multilateral trade rules.
Xinhua/gnews.cz/ROZ_07
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