China’s economy will recover at a pace faster than global average along with some other Asian economies despite challenges like a new wave of coronavirus outbreak, the Ukraine crisis, and bulk commodity price hikes, Li Baodong, secretary general of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), said on Wednesday at a meeting during the BFA Annual Conference 2022. 

His viewpoint was echoed by a number of domestic economists, who argued that China’s leadership role is evident in Asia for accounting for more than 40 percent of the region’s economic aggregate. 

According to Li, despite the aforementioned challenges in 2022, which will cast a shadow over  the fast recovery of the Asian economy, most regional economies remain economically stable, and East Asian, South Asian economies including China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies will witness their recovery pace “evidently faster” than the global average.

“Asian countries will continue to be the ballast of the global economy and the driver of multi-lateral cooperation. Via internal development and bilateral, multi-lateral cooperation, Asia will play a role of strong leadership on issues like global green development,” he noted.  

According to a report released during the Boao Forum 2022 addressing Asia’s economic prospects, Asia’s e proportion of global economic output increased to 47.4 percent in 2021, as the region achieved recovery faster than other regions amid the global pandemic last year.

Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said during a group conference on Wednesday on the sidelines of the forum that Asia’s economic growth is expected to exceed IMF expectations at around 4.8 percent. 

“Seen from a historical perspective, Asian’s economic growth speed is faster than other regions. This trend still maintains inertia now,” he said. 

Li noted that China has made clear achievements in implementing coronavirus prevention control measures and developing its domestic economy, making it the backbone of the post-Covid global economic recovery and Asian economic integration.

Global Times