Long Yongtu, former vice minister Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation./ Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

Today’s economic globalization is driven more by the internet than technology and it’s materialized increasingly by small and medium enterprises than multinational companies and more about the extension of value chain than the relocation of industries, Long Yongtu, former deputy minister of commerce and former Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia, concluded at the 3rd China and Globalization Roundtable Forum in Beijing host by a leading think tank, the Center for China and Globalization(CCG) . The following is an excerpt from his speech:

The setbacks and challenges especially in US and Europe now the globalization faces are per se the embodiment of the unbalanced redistribution which governments of the all levels in the world should take responsible for.

Most Chinese now recognize the positive role of the globalization which indicates the success of the Chinese government in deal with the benefit-sharing. In other words, the experience China got could be recommended to other countries given the current anti-globalization trend worldwide.

The benefits globalization should be enjoyed by different social strata and social equity is also a vital attribute in sustaining globalization.

The Chinese government has made social equity a priority by carrying out targeted poverty alleviation, narrowing regional gap and improving income redistribution. The recently unveiled Xiongan New Area, a strategy aimed at boosting regional development, is a prime example of this.

Notwithstanding, it is too early to say that China should lead globalization considering the shortcomings both on science and technology and enterprise competitiveness. China has still a long way to go for such a position.

The article is translated by Pan Tingli, an intern with Chinadaily.com.cn