(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-10 07:26

As people gradually realize that economic globalization is an irreversible trend, a practical problem arises: How to advance economic globalization in the direction of balanced development, shared benefits and win-win progress.

The world's peace and development will lose its solid economic foundation if this problem is not solved, says a signed article in People's Daily. The following are excerpts:

Economic globalization is actually a process of marketization of the global economy. It has expanded and intensified rapidly since the late 1980s as great progress was achieved in information technology.

Economic globalization has been a process full of contradictions. From the very beginning it was labeled as a "double-edged sword". There have been constant arguments against it in the past decades. And the problems behind its apparent prosperity are looming increasingly.

Undoubtedly, economic globalization is also an unprecedented opportunity for all. The world's industrialization and information popularization is now advancing rapidly. Profound changes have taken place in the international division of labor and economic growth. Manufacturing and related technologies as well as international capital are shifting to rising markets at a fast speed. International and regional cooperation is driving the world's economy into a historical age of overall prosperity. According to the World Trade Organization, the total volume of global imports and exports reached $10 trillion in 2005 and $11 trillion last year. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that the global FDI (foreign direct investment) flow exceeded $1.3 trillion in 2006 with growth faster than that of industrial production and foreign trade.

We have plenty of reasons to applaud economic globalization but also enough to worry about the increasingly unbalanced development.

Growing competition in natural, technological and human resources, and the reorganizing of the world's supply-demand relationship has accelerated the further centralization of wealth and widening of the North-South gap. Some countries are being gradually marginalized. According to WTO statistics, African countries, whose population accounts for 14 percent of the world's total, had only 2.9 percent of global exports in 2005.

The serious imbalance in growth has increased the risks in international economic development. Such negative impacts are expanding from the economic arena to other fields like politics, security, society and culture, becoming the direct cause for various contradictions and conflicts in the world.

The powerful position of developed countries in the globalization process has caused the unbalanced development of the world economy to a certain extent.

Objectively, developed countries with matured economic systems and social security systems, are strong in their capability to participate in economic globalization and respond to external impacts. Developing countries and some emerging economies, on the other hand, are in a disadvantaged position because of their fragile market systems, and weak financial systems.

Economic globalization should have been a positive force in theory but in fact, its potentials are not given full play. In some regions, globalization has even caused poverty. Developed countries hold the upper hand in capital, technology, and markets. This has led to unbalanced development.

While developed countries promote the benefits of a market economy and free trade and ask developing countries to open their markets; they insist on subsidizing their domestic agricultural production to enhance the competitiveness of their exports.

Economic globalization is being driven by developed countries. The appeals and calls to establish a fair and rational international new order by developing countries are often ignored. The Doha Development Agenda initiated six years ago, has made no substantial progress because developed countries refuse to give up their inequitable vested interests.

The lopsided international economic order has seriously affected the sustainable development of the global economy. It does not fit the long-term interests of the human being, including those from the developed countries. To establish a fair and rational international economic order is not only a pressing need of disadvantaged developing countries, but also the responsibility of the international community.

In this regard, the international community has been exploring channels to rectify the lopsided relationship and unbalanced development. Regional economic cooperation has achieved further progress. Various bilateral and multilateral free trade arrangements have mushroomed. Countries are now more inclined to enhance communication and cooperation. A series of important agreements have been reached on how to advance economic globalization in the direction of balanced development, shared benefits and win-win progress.

It is recognized that in order to advance economic globalization, the diversified development modes of different countries should be respected, and communication of experiences should be promoted. Innovations are also needed to improve the development mode to realize a harmonious relationship between human being and nature as well as overall sustainable development.

Dialogue and coordination among different countries should be enhanced on macro-economic policies and other issues involving world economic development and common interests. Cooperation should be strengthened to upgrade the international community's ability in crisis management and maintaining economic stability.

Based on equality and mutual benefits, a new international economic order should be established. A fair, rational, transparent, open and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system should be introduced. Trade protectionism should be prevented and trade barriers removed. Developing countries' right to speak should be enhanced to create conditions for gradual improvement of the financial environment.

The development aid mechanism should be enhanced to transfer more resources to developing countries for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Developed countries should shoulder more responsibilities to open their markets, transfer technology, increase aid and provide debt relief to developing countries, especially the heavily indebted poor countries and the least developed.

As a developing country, China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development as well as a win-win strategy for the promotion of peace, openness and cooperation. We will take a new road to industrialization with high technology and efficiency, low resource consumption and pollution, as well as pay due regard to human resources.

We will continue to contribute to regional and global development through our own development, and expand areas where our interests meet with those of other countries. While securing our own development, we will accommodate the legitimate concerns of other countries, especially the developing ones. We support international efforts to help developing countries enhance their capacity for independent development and will do our utmost to support these countries.

In recent years, China has established open dialogue and communication with countries on major economic issues, including global trade, development, debt relief, financial stability, and energy security. It has also made solid contributions to resolving these problems. China will never seek benefits for itself at the expense of other countries' or shift its troubles onto others.

(China Daily 12/10/2007 page4)