China takes up ‘sizeable portion’ of global growth

17  January 2013

OTTAWA — China has contributed greatly to global economic growth, said a Canadian scholar in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

“For much of the 21st century China’s growth alone has been responsible for a very sizeable portion of the growth in the global economy, pulling along other economies with it,” said Jeremy Paltiel, a professor of political science at Carleton University in Ottawa.

China’s economic growth has extended positive influence on the rest of the world, he said.

“The rise in Chinese investment and interest in Africa has pulled along other countries’ investment and reinvigorated interest in Africa,” Paltiel said.

And the Chinese model has “a positive impact on Africa’s rebirth,” he added.

On the shift of China’s model of economic growth, Paltiel said it would be “a fundamental change in China’s social and economic fields”.

“China should base its economic development on its domestic needs,” he said. And in fact, domestic needs contribute more to its economic development while its dependence on foreign trade has been lessened, he added.

During the process of the shift, strengthening the domestic safety net is key, Paltiel said. When Chinese families feel more secure and need not to save a lot for the education of their children and health care, they can spend more freely, he said.

To build a domestic social safety net is a “historic change”, which will be a wonderful benefit for the Chinese population, he said.

If the Chinese economy relies less on investment and foreign trade but more on consumption, that will give China a larger internal market, said the scholar.

And a rising demand in the Chinese domestic market will have “salutary effects” on the global economy, he said.