Chinese economy plays vital role globally: WTO economist

GENEVA - The Chinese economy is a vital player in global landscape and its rapid growth is a huge motor for global expansion, a senior economist with the World Trade Organization (WTO) has told Xinhua.

"Since the middle of the last decade and calculated on a purchasing power parity basis, China has contributed more to global growth than any other economy in the world," said Robert Teh, acting director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division of WTO, in a recent written interview with Xinhua.

He said that China, being a major exporter and importer, provides a large and affordable supply of goods that improve the life of consumers and households worldwide, and serves as a major source of demand for the rest of the world.

China is the largest market of exporters from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with 23 percent of LDCs' total exports going to China in 2012, up from 9 percent in 2000, Teh said.

China also played an important role in the global commodity markets, accounting for about 20 percent of non-renewable energy resources, 23 percent of major agricultural crops, and 40 percent of base metals, he said.

The increases of Chinese demand for food and primary commodities have been a big reason for higher commodity prices that have benefited exporters of these products, he added.

As for China's role in global supply chains, he said China is both a leading exporter and importer of intermediate goods, accounting for roughly 14 percent of world exports of non-fuel intermediate goods and 13 percent of imports of non-fuel intermediates.

The new Chinese leadership has outlined its vision of giving the decisive role to market forces in the allocation of resources, Teh said.

"We also expect a shift toward internally generated demand. This means there is ample scope for efficiencies to be wrung from the economy thus providing a solid and sustainable basis for future growth," he said.

"Even if growth slows somewhat as China's economy matures, greater reliance on domestic demand could mean a better quality of life for Chinese citizens, since it would provide them with increased consumption opportunities," he added.

Market-oriented reforms help support China's further growth: expert	Premier Li positive about Chinese economy