Economy

Chinese leaders do well in managing economy, professor says

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-19 10:41

ATHENS - China's leaders do well in managing the nation's economy and helping many other countries deal with the international financial crisis, says a Greek economics professor.

Gregory Prastacos, rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business and chairman of the Athens Business School of Confucius Institute, appears very positive about initiatives undertaken by Chinese leadership on the economic front.

He noted during a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency that in a network economy any decisions taken in Beijing have an effect on all other economies.

"Chinese leaders are doing a very good job in managing their economy and in protecting many of the economies of the world. They move consistently towards opening up, and I believe this is to the benefit of China and the rest of the world," Prastacos said.

The professor, who has visited China about 20 times, said he is impressed with the image of a modern country changing rapidly. He is very optimistic about China for one more reason -- the big investment in developing knowledge.

Related readings:  Jobs and structure in the global economy  China's economy feels effects of Japanese quake  China formulating detailed rules to boost non-State economy  Marine economy development zone approved for E China

"I believe this is the key, because we live in an innovation economy and innovation means knowledge and transform knowledge into valuable products and services", Prastacos said. "Developing knowledge is of paramount importance to the sustainable growth of a country and this is what I see in China."

As chairman of the Athens Business School of Confucius Institute, the third of its kind established in Europe two years ago after the London School of Economics and the Copenhagen Business School to promote Chinese language and culture, Prastacos contributes to efforts to bring the two countries and peoples closer.

He is very positive about the future of collaborations between Greece and China, as well as the future of the debt-ridden Greek economy, rejecting scenarios of a possible default or restructure of the Greek debt or a dissolution of the eurozone.

"One of the things to remember is that we live in a network economy. The side effects are going to be very bad for anybody, not only in Europe, but all over the world. The European debt and the Greek debt is bought by many countries and organizations in all over the world. Nobody wants something like that," the professor said.

Prastacos expressed optimism, arguing that the structural changes the Greek government implements will turn Greece into a more productive economy, exploiting unique capabilities and resources to exit the crisis.

"We are a unique country as far as location, cultural resources, shipping and tourism which is a sector of the economy that acts like a catalyst for growth for all other sectors," he said.

Noting that every company that wants to enter the European market is bound to look at Greece as an entry point to the EU, the professor referred to COSCO's investment in the Port of Piraeus as an initiative that will push growth in Greece.

"We need two things to boost development in our country -- some big investments which will give the feeling of success stories and decentralized and down to the ground strategy to develop investments at the local level," Prastacos said.

He explained that he supports developing clusters in regions based on what capabilities that region has.

"Piraeus is a very good example of this, because being the center of shipping has a whole network of companies and services around shipping, such as logistics, law, insurance, operations and electronics. The same thing can be done for every region of Greece," he said.