Chinese premier stresses importance to promote strong, sustainable, balanced economic growth of China and world

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Friday met with leaders of six major international economic and financial institutions in a "1+6" roundtable meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

The six leaders are World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria and FSB Chairman Mark Carney.

They talked in great depth on the "global economic situation and challenges" and "new driving forces in China's economic transition," and also answered questions from the media in a joint press conference.

Premier Li said that despite the growing factors of instability and uncertainty in the global economy, the international market has the potential to grow and humanity has the wisdom to overcome difficulties. All parties must strengthen confidence, give priority to growing the economy and improving people's lives, and work toward the goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth. The stable recovery of the world economy requires a holistic approach to address both symptoms and root causes and to balance short-term and medium-to-long-term problems. We need to expand aggregate demand as appropriate and advance structural reform in the direction of easing regulation, supporting innovation, improving employment and promoting inclusive growth. We need to maintain flexibility of the fiscal policy and leverage the supporting role of monetary policy in growing the real economy.

Premier Li pointed out that to ensure the stable recovery of the world economy is the responsibility of all parties. We must doubly cherish and endeavor to uphold a peaceful and stable international environment. We must firmly support the globalization process and the dominant role of the multilateral trading system, oppose protectionism of all manifestations and exercise caution with the use of restrictive trade measures. Major economies need to enhance macroeconomic policy coordination, increase policy transparency and predictability and take into full account the spillover effect of their policies. The international organizations need to play a greater steering and coordinating role in this regard. China is ready to work with all parties to ensure the success of the G20 Hangzhou Summit in order to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy.

Premier Li stressed that despite some ups and downs, the performance of the Chinese economy remains stable and continues to move in a positive direction. China is expanding aggregate demand as appropriate and focusing on supply-side structural reform to generate new drivers of growth, transform traditional drivers and shift the economic structure. That said, we are also aware of the grim and complex economic situation in the world as well as considerable downward pressure and multiple challenges facing the Chinese economy. We will continue to overcome difficulties, deepen reform in all respects, and further streamline administrative procedures to unleash public creativity and market vitality. We will reinforce new growth drivers and transform and upgrade traditional drivers through the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and the initiative to encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation, all for the purpose of ensuring steady economic performance and improving economic structure. The Chinese economy is a "stability anchor" for the world economy. Running our own affairs well is in itself a contribution to world development.

The leaders of the international economic and financial institutions said that the meeting was held in a most opportune time. It allowed participants to engage in extensive and in-depth communication on how to tackle global challenges and promote world economic recovery, and produced a lot of consensus. It also demonstrated China's positive attitude toward enhanced communication with the international community and its commitment to international cooperation. China is an important partner in the world trade system, a champion of globalization and multilateralism. China has played an important leadership role as the G20 President this year. The IMF, while lowering its global growth forecast, has revised up its forecast for China. This is a show of confidence in the Chinese government's commitment to reform and opening up, as well as recognition of the sustainable growth policies introduced by China and the positive effects of their implementation. The participants expressed their readiness to work with China to boost global trade, advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and foster open and resilient international financial and trade systems, with a view to better delivering the benefits of development to all mankind.

A joint press release was issued after the roundtable meeting. Endit