'Dual circulation' strategy to be major driver for next five years

China has formed a key economic development strategy for the next five years, focusing on its huge domestic consumer market and promoting high-level opening up, to tackle headwinds from the unprecedented global crisis, said a leader of a national think tank late on Wednesday.

The country now has the world's most active consumer market, and the new economic growth pattern of "dual circulation", which was proposed by the top-level policymakers in May, will be the significant development strategy in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Zeng Peiyan, chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said in a speech at the sixth Global Think Tank Summit.

Following the new strategy, China will achieve high-level opening up, continually improve the business environment for foreign investment and better connect the domestic and international markets, according to Zeng.

He stressed improving the coordination of macroeconomic policies in various countries, and taking effective policy measures to prevent the global economy from falling into a deep and medium-term recession.

"We need to have dialogues around major issues, such as global economy, finance, energy, science and technology, to promote a new plan of global governance which is more fair and inclusive."

International organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have lowered their forecasts for the global economy this year, with a common conclusion that the world will meet the most serious economic recession since World War II and more than 90 percent of economies will have negative growth due to the unprecedented global public health crisis.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has not only upturned the global economy, but also brought a long cold winter," said Zeng. "The international community needs solidarity and cooperation more than ever before."

Zeng called for joint efforts to promote the establishment of a global coordination mechanism for public health, strengthen the COVID-19 information sharing system, and improve international cooperation in researching and developing drugs and vaccine to control the disease.