PARIS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's economic health has boosted the growth of its economic partners, and China's initiatives to promote high-level opening up help mitigate the effects of protectionism in international trade, Lyazid Benhami, vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
The Chinese economy grew by 4.8 percent in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. "This growth rate is encouraging given the economic situation and the context of security distrust around the world," Benhami said, stressing that the economic health of China, the world's second-largest economy, "is obviously pulling the rest of the partner countries up."
Since the beginning of this year, China has continued its efforts to promote high-level opening up, including removing all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, and building a nationwide negative list management system for cross-border trade in services for the first time.
According to Benhami, continuing the policy of opening up to allow foreign companies to have better access to the Chinese domestic market is one of the effective solutions that mitigate the effects of protectionism in international trade.
He also noted that China's active participation in trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) that benefit all economic players, is also a good way to establish confidence for the global economic environment and to maintain its stability.
The annual Central Economic Work Conference held recently in Beijing decided to adopt a series of major macroeconomic policies that have prompted global attention, including a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy.
In this regard, Benhami believed that by supporting domestic consumption with a monetary policy that combines a moderate cut in key interest rates, China will prioritize demand-led recovery.
In addition, China has, according to Benhami, taken a direction in building an industrial production system that is "virtuous and concerned with environmental protection." He welcomed this move, saying that it is a good sign for the rest of the world.
(Contributed by Li Wenxin, edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, sudan@xinhua.org)
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