“China is still the engine for the development of the global economy and will continue to benefit the world,” said Professor Deepak of the Centre of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in a recent interview.

Deepak is an Indian expert on China Studies and has been studying the country for more than twenty years. Deepak pointed out that the Chinese economy grew by 6.7 percent year-on-year in 2016, while contributing 33.2 percent of global growth. Under the backdrop of a sluggish recovery in the global economy, the data are very impressive. Therefore, he believes that China is still the engine for the development of the global economy, and the country’s growth will continue to benefit the world. This also shows that China has achieved “major progress” in transforming its formerly investment- and export-based economy to a consumer-based one. The key factors in this transformation are the development of information technologies in China and in the public service sector, both of which are provided by the Chinese government to its people.

“As the world’s second-largest economy, China will contribute more to the reform of global governance,” said Deepak. He believes that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Silk Road Fund, BRICS New Development Bank and other multilateral institutions—which are all designed to meet the needs of developing countries—complement existing international mechanisms and play an active role in the development of the global industrial chain, which then contributes to the expansion of global aggregate demand.

Deepak also said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative conforms to the trend of economic globalization. The concepts advocated by the Chinese government, such as peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, will promote global infrastructure development, strengthen connectivity, enhance people-to-people bonds and contribute greatly to the world’s further economic development. (This article was orginally published in People’s Daily and abridged here for use)