China’s role highlighted at forum
Nation’s own issues must come first, says AIIB boss
China needs to attend to its own priorities first before contributing to the world economy, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun said at the Asian Financial Forum on Monday.
China must first tend to the needs of its own people before considering its global role, the president of the 84-member multilateral bank said on Monday, according to an unaudited speech transcript posted on domestic news portal sina.com.cn Monday.
The Asian Financial Forum is being held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from Monday to Tuesday.
Jin said that China has no desire to become the world’s leader in all aspects, even though it has become the world’s second-largest economy and has earned a significant global role.
Jin explained that in some aspects a country can play a leading role but in other aspects the same country may need aid from other countries, describing this as a new type of relationship for the 21st century.
The establishment of the AIIB can be seen as China performing a certain leadership role, Jin said, noting that there will be more members joining the AIIB.
David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, said at the same forum that China’s global role includes being a pacesetter for digital commerce, a creditor with an increasingly important role in development aid and infrastructure finance, and the largest shareholder in the AIIB.
Lipton said that it is safe to predict that China’s role in international institutions will continue to expand in the coming years, according to a statement the IMF sent to the Global Times on Monday.
Chinese lending represents 25 to 30 percent of GDP in some recipient countries, according to Lipton.
The key challenge for China now is to ensure that its role in generating growth and financing remains on a path that benefits the global economy and itself, Lipton said.
China should be open to looking at its own restrictions on trade and investment, Lipton also noted. And the nation’s constructive role in global institutions is needed to adapt to a changing global economy.