Interview: China steps up efforts to promote open global economy at G20, says analyst

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China stepped up efforts to promote an open global economy and free trade at the just concluded Group of 20 (G20) summit in Argentina, according to analyst Sergio Gomez.

"China is building bridges with the world and President Xi Jinping arrived in Argentina not only with speeches but with ideas, proposals," Gomez told Xinhua in an interview.

The proposals Xi presented at the G20 summit in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires were a commitment to an open, free global trade, and the mentality that there shouldn't be any losers in a global economy.

"In an international context marked by uncertainty, President Xi Jinping made clear China's stance on different issues," he said.

Gomez, journalist at the renowned local website Cubadebate in Cuba, said China's proposals could help reduce the negative spillover of macro-economic policies of some countries and initiate a cycle of common development worldwide.

The former director of the international section at the Cuban newspaper Granma said the Chinese proposals with tangible results seen worldwide served as examples for the G20 summit in finding a way to further promote a multilateral trading system and an open global economy.

According to Gomez, the G20 should first stick to openness and free trade, maintain and further expand an open market, and materialize win-win cooperation through mutual exchanges and complementarity.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently revised down global growth in 2018 and 2019 to 3.7 percent due to external and financial pressures on emerging markets and an increase in trade tensions.

The greatest impact of a complex economic situation worldwide, the Cuban analyst said, will be felt largely by the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

While speaking highly of Xi's vision of global trade and growth, Gomez highlighted China's foreign policy in its ties with nations in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

China's progress and economic development don't pose a danger for the rest of the international community, he noted.

"China is not considering a cost-benefit relationship, but rather a win-win cooperation," said Gomez. "As China moves forward, it also becomes an engine of development for other nations, not an impediment."