G20 economists banking on China’s growth

Economists from G20 members expressed optimism about China's economy Thursday, saying they expected the country to maintain its growth momentum and bolster a fragile global economic recovery.

"With the crisis in Europe and problems in the US, the real engine for world economic growth is shifting to developing countries, China in particular," Sergey Afontsev, director of the Economic Theory Department at the Institute for World Economy and International Relations in Russia, said at an international think tank conference in Beijing Thursday.

"The major concern is the economic slowdown in China. If the threat is realized, it will be one of the most critical challenges facing the world's economy," Afontsev said, noting it is crucial for China to maintain growth.

The two-day conference, organized by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China and attended by economists from think tanks in G20 member economies, concluded Thursday ahead of the G20 summit to be held in Saint ­Petersburg, Russia on September 5 and 6.

Economists at the conference agreed in a joint statement released late Thursday that the global economy is recovering but economic growth lacks new sources of strength.

They called for G20 members to strengthen research into ­international macroeconomic and financial policy reform, and to include voices from ­developing countries.

Some economists also spoke of the importance of China's economic growth amid the fragile world economy.

"Right now, I'm very hopeful because there have been many policies under discussion since March. There have been conversations about reforming energy pricing policies and adjustment of resource taxes," Melanie M. Hart, senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress in Washington, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the conference.

"There are clear voices in China that they will push forward with stronger reforms. It seems that the new [Chinese] leaders completely understand the problem. The question will be whether they can do what it takes to push past the vested interests of the old system and really move forward into the next stage," Hart said.

Positive signs for China's economy have emerged since the beginning of the month amid a raft of July economic data released recently, which showed that the economy is stabilizing following a shaky first half in which China's GDP growth slowed to 7.6 percent.

"There will be no major crisis if China's economic growth remains between 7 percent and 8 percent a year," Zhao Changhui, senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, told the Global Times.