China’s ‘two sessions’ 2023: Qin Gang urges Asia to go for growth, not power games
- Foreign minister says Chinese economic prospects are good for the region, which should not be treated as a ‘geopolitical chessboard’
- In his first press conference since taking on the role, Qin also slams Washington’s strategy to ‘encircle China’
In his first press conference since succeeding Wang Yi in the role two months ago, Qin also stressed that the region should not be treated as a “chessboard for geopolitical contest”.
“Some are concerned about China’s economic outlook. I think that’s quite unnecessary,” Qin said, noting that international institutions have recently revised their growth forecasts upwards for the world’s second-largest economy.
“I believe as China accelerates high-quality development, promotes high-standard opening up and fosters a new development paradigm, it will surely bring new opportunities to all countries in the world, especially regional countries.”
Qin was fielding a question on whether the region had found it increasingly difficult to rely on China – its largest trading partner – for economic development as the Chinese economy faced downward pressure.
China’s economy missed the government’s target of “around 5.5 per cent” last year, reporting just 3 per cent growth. It was also the first time in more than 40 years that GDP failed to reach the global average, which stood at around 3.4 per cent for 2022.