'China must convert crises to advantages'

Attempts to disrupt development in nation will not succeed, say experts

China needs to continue on its set course, run its own affairs well and maintain economic resilience to respond to the United States' extreme pressure, experts said on Wednesday.

Their words came as the yearlong China-US trade tension was further escalated. Last week, Washington said it will impose an additional 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting Sept 1. The plan will put additional tariffs on basically all Chinese goods coming into the US, but medicines will not be affected.

Wang Yiming, vice-president of the State Council's Development Research Center, said China needs to make full preparations to deal with an uneasy relationship with the US in the long term.

"The country should continuously deepen market-oriented reforms and promote opening-up, and take a steady stance while responding to the constant changes from the US," he said at a seminar in Beijing.

"Future Sino-US economic and trade consultations will be a complicated process. We must have patience and strategic strength," Wang said.

He said that an economic growth downturn is possible, but the long-term positive development will not change because fiscal and monetary policies still have enough space.

Yang Yiyong, director of the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, said a key measure for the Chinese government to address future uncertainties is to further expand the overseas markets, and continuously develop economic and trade ties with other countries besides the US.

At the same time, the country should also tap the potential in the domestic market and boost consumption, Yang said.

"Today's China is more qualified and capable to turn crises into opportunities, and transform the external pressures into a momentum to comprehensively deepen reform and promote high-quality development," said Lin Zhaomu, former executive vice-president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Some people in the US are attempting to disrupt China's development through trade friction, which is impossible," he said.

China's huge and fast-growing domestic market is a great advantage, while multinational companies won't be able to neglect the China market, Lin said.

Citing figures from the International Monetary Fund, Lin said in 2008 China's imports took up 6.7 percent of that globally, much lower than the US share of 13.2 percent. In 2018, China accounted for 11 percent of global imports, while the US share dropped to 13 percent, he said.

Besides, China has many other favorable conditions to support the long-term sustainable development of the economy, Lin said, citing examples such as China's savings rate is more than twice that of the US, and has become a net capital exporter with abundant capital for development.

China's per capita income is much lower than that of developed countries, and is still undertaking industrialization, information, urbanization and agricultural modernization, during which its economic growth can more than double the speed of developed countries, he said.