The future holds promise thanks to painstaking efforts of China

With Greece officially ending the bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the European Commission, the decade-long global financial crisis, which was triggered by the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers on Sept 15, 2008, seems to be over. And some economists and institutions worldwide are reflecting on the lessons and experiences of the global financial crisis.

But there is no reason for the international community to feel relieved and be complacent about the challenges ahead, because partly due to the appreciation of the US dollar, the value of many currencies, especially those of Turkey and Argentina, have fallen drastically spreading panic in the world markets. Which reminds us of the situation when the global financial crisis broke out in 2008.

Besides, many consensuses and institutional arrangements the international community agreed to after World War II to jointly deal with global crises are under attack. For example, by using protectionist and unilateral measures, the United States is destroying the spirit of multilateralism. The World Trade Organization and the multilateral trading system could become ineffective if the US continues to practice its unilateral and isolationist policies.