Globalization a trend that must be sustained

As China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said during the Boao Forum for Asia on Saturday, globalization is a reality for all countries, and is not a matter of choice. Policymakers across the world should keep in mind that although we are not in a perfect global village, globalization has benefited numerous people; and what we should do is cooperate with each other to improve the global trade system.

In the past decades, globalization has benefited both the developed and developing countries. In the developing countries, people's incomes have been raised and many have been lifted out of poverty. In the developed world, companies have taken advantage of the globalization tide to reach beyond their home country to invest and profit in almost all corners of the globe, bringing returns to shareholders.

However, the sluggish global recovery after the financial crisis has resulted in growing angst among those most affected and a growing backlash against globalization in some countries, most notably in the developed economies where it shoulders the blame from those feeling the brunt of job losses as a result of an exodus of manufacturing.