China key contributor to post-pandemic global economy: Cambodian experts

PHNOM PENH, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China has been playing an important role in helping the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodian scholars said here on Wednesday.

Senior economist Ky Sereyvath, director-general of the Institute of China Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said China's economy is still relatively resilient despite the pandemic and rising global inflation.

China's economy grew 4.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022.

"I think that effective macroeconomic policies in response to global challenges have contributed to China's steady economic growth," he told Xinhua.

"The resilience of China's economy has importantly contributed to the global economy because China is the major manufacturer of essential goods for the world, and it is obvious that China has become the stabilizer of the global supply chain since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," Sereyvath said.

He added that China is a key promoter of multilateralism and free trade as well as a major contributor to world peace, security, stability and development.

"As the world is facing challenges caused by the pandemic, trade friction, and Ukraine-Russia conflict, the promotion of global trade and investment is essential to recover the global economy in the post-pandemic era," he said.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said China has been playing a key role as the global economic stabilizer, and a driving force to help reduce and eliminate poverty in the world.

"I think that the Chinese government is sincerely committed to opening up the Chinese economy and market to global traders, irrespective of their region, geographical affiliation and size of their economies," he told Xinhua.

He said China, as a key advocate of multilateralism and globalization of international trade and investment, believes in healthy competition where the field is even for all competitors.

"Unilateralism and protectionism are the cancer of global development and enemies of efforts to alleviate poverty from the world," he said.

The scholar said China is tremendously contributing to the world's economic development through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), digital Silk Road, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and green and blue economies, among others.

He added that the only way to bring back the global economy to the pre-pandemic level is to work together as "one global economy and one global market."

"The secret of success lies in opening up, free and fair competition and equal opportunities to all countries to trade without tariffs barriers and restrictions," Matthews said.

Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said China's continuous opening up would contribute to rebuilding regional and global economy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

"China's further opening-up is a boon to regional and global post-pandemic economic recovery," he told Xinhua. "China has played a very important role in enhancing multilateralism in the global economy and is a new force of peace, stability, sustainable and inclusive development and prosperity in the region and in the world."

Phea added that the BRI has been a new global force of peace, stability, prosperity and harmony.

"In the context of trade conflicts, rising protectionism and anti-globalization, the BRI has been seen as a global initiative which will build a silk road of peace towards the economic globalization that is vibrant, more open, more stable and more sustainable," he said.

Phea said global inclusive growth and prosperity cannot be possible without the resilience of China's economy under the current pandemic.

"China has always been ready to work with the international community to restore confidence in multilateralism and globalization, build an open and pluralistic world economy, and blaze a new trail in inclusive growth and sustainable development, so as to shape a brighter shared future," he said.