Commentary: Chinese therapies for Phelps, world economy

While many people got puzzled at the dark red circles on the back of American swimmer Michael Phelps at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Chinese were overjoyed to see he was using a traditional Chinese therapy.

Those marks were signs of a cupping practice, which uses suction to loosen muscles and tendons and help athletes recover from physical exertion.

Other Chinese therapies like acupuncture and herbal medicines are also gaining popularity across the globe. Many people outside China have come to understand that Chinese therapies actually work.

That applies in the economic arena, too. As the leaders of major developed and developing economies gather in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the Group of 20 summit, the host country of China is offering its therapy for the sluggish world economy.

At the Business 20 summit on Saturday, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech, calling for an innovative world economy to generate new drivers of growth; an open one to expand the scope of development; an interconnected one to forge interactive synergy; and an inclusive one to strengthen the foundation for win-win outcomes.

Like cupping in traditional Chinese medicine, the therapy for world economic growth has already proven effective in China.

The Chinese authorities are fully aware that innovation holds the key to fundamentally unleashing growth potential. Having benefited greatly from globalization, China will never see the rise of trade protectionism.

China is also a beneficiary of large-scale infrastructure construction, which has made its people well connected. Now it is offering to help others improve public facilities such as highways, railways and ports.

Having focused on improving the livelihood of the whole of society, China understands how important inclusive growth is for comprehensive economic and social development.

One question stands: can the therapy work for the world? Those with a clear understanding of the wider situation hold the answer.

Nowadays, the world economic growth is far from optimistic and globalization is facing challenges. As Brexit and the presidential elections in the United States show -- anti-globalization, isolationism and trade protectionism are spreading and gaining momentum.

The real reason lies in the imbalance of world development originating from the defect of global economic governance. The progress of global economic governance lags far behind the development of globalization.

It is more important, although more difficult, to adhere to openness in hard times, instead of "beggar-thy-neighbor" policies.

To address such issues, China calls for building global partnerships featuring win-win cooperation, strengthening coordination and consultation on major global issues, and improving global economic governance targeting sharing among all participants.

The Chinese therapy also includes the reform of global economic institutions in accordance with the change of economic shares of countries in world economy.

China is the world's biggest developing country and often advocates the interests of developing countries in multilateral venues. China has invited the most number of leaders of developing countries to join the summit in G20 history, even though they are not members.

With this broad participation of developing countries, the G20 framework will feature the increased discourse power of developing countries.

In addition, the Hangzhou summit marks the Group of 20 transforming from a crisis-response institution to a long-term global economic governance system, with more cooperation and policy coordination.

The therapy is there, what matters now is action. Endi