CIIE Shanghai

CIIE shows China's commitment to globalization
The fourth CIIE closing ceremony held on Nov 10 in Shanghai.
The fourth edition is underway from Nov 5 to 10, and it is timely as it both demonstrates China's strong economic growth to the benefit of the global economy and the country's continuing commitment to multilateralism.
China's commitment in both words and deeds.
There has been a steady decline in the World Openness Index over the last 10 years and in the global consensus on opening-up. World Bank reports show that trade as a percentage of world GDP was just over 60 percent in 2011 and had declined to a bit over 56 percent by 2019 and to around 52 percent by 2020. This trend was underway before the pandemic but has accelerated since then. Undoubtedly, the growth of protectionism has contributed to this decline.
China's own direction reflects the opposite in the 20 years since it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2001, China was the sixth largest economy and has grown to become the second largest. It was also then sixth in trade in goods and is now first, and has also jumped from 11th to second in trade in services. Remarkably, China's outbound investment has risen from 26th to first in that time. These indicators show the value of win-win cooperation rather than the zero sum approach of some Western nations.
The WTO needs to reform in an era where the developing world demands strong representation. President Xi confirmed China's support for the inclusive development of the multilateral trading regime that reflects the legitimate rights and interests of the developing members within an international rules-based setting. Of equal importance is how President Xi pledged to help safeguard the stability of global industrial supply chains. This is a major issue as the world advances technologically while we see shortages of microchips, concerns over energy stability and logjams of cargo at ports.
For a country to support multilateralism, it needs to engage with many partners in well-functioning associations and organizations. China is committed to taking an active part in cooperation within the UN, the WTO, the G20, APEC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other institutions. This includes important issues of global reach such as the digital economy, distribution and trade in vaccines, and key medical supplies and measures to tackle climate change with green and low-carbon development. These are very clear examples of challenges which require global cooperation to solve. China has clearly stated its commitment to a multilateral world for common prosperity.
By Colin Speakman, an economist and an international educator specializing in China