By Wang Huijuan
BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhuanet) -- China’s economic growth last year and its GDP growth target this year had and would definitely have a positive impact on global economy, said Ethiopian Ambassador to China Teshome Toga Chanaka.
The ambassador made the remarks during a recent interview with Xinhuanet. He added that his country is looking forward to attracting more Chinese investment and cooperating with China in more sectors.
The ambassador lauded China's 8.1 percent GDP growth in 2021 as “the only major economy that has shown a positive growth trajectory after the pandemic.”
According to him, a combination of three factors is the driving force behind China’s robust economic growth.
The first thing he emphasized is: “China has designed a development policy and strategy that suits Chinese situation.” He also gave credit for China’s great results in industrialization and its move into high-tech industries, artificial intelligence, digital economy, etc.
“The second thing,” he added, “is the leadership; and the third is the participation of all sectors of the society.”
The ambassador shared his point of view on China’s GDP growth target of 5.5 percent for 2022. He said, China, as the largest manufacturer, the largest consumer market and a big importer, plays a very important role in the whole global value chain. “Because of the size of the economy, if the goal is achieved, it will also have a positive contribution to global economy,” said the ambassador.
Referring to the China-Ethiopia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, the ambassador elaborated on the achievements of bilateral cooperation during the past year, highlighting the two countries’ joint fight against the pandemic and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
He recalled that Ethiopia stood with China when the virus broke out in Wuhan in early 2020, and China reached out to Ethiopia when COVID-19 was found in Ethiopia.
“China sent its health experts to Ethiopia, and came out in a very big way in providing the badly-needed personal protective equipment to Ethiopia,” he said, adding that such a support at a very critical moment meant a lot to Ethiopians.
The ambassador highlighted cooperation between the two countries which covers a wide range of fields. For instance, he cited the Chinese-built public-owned commercial bank office building, the country’s largest of its kind and also a landmark building inaugurated last month in the center of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.
“So far we have several projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the railway and the industrial park developments,” he said, praising BRI as one with global impact benefiting all parties involved.
Taking Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway as an example, he said “it will boost regional integration.”
Looking to the future, the ambassador hopes more Chinese companies will come to make more investments in Ethiopia, especially in such sectors as human resources, digital economy and medical health.
He emphasized that it’s important that the two countries’ partnership is based on equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit, which lay a strong foundation for the ever-deepening all-round cooperation.
“To put it in a nutshell, I think we are looking forward to a full implementation of the‘Nine Programs’ that had been announced at the Eighth Ministerial Conference on the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation,” the ambassador concluded. Enditem
