Argentine observers speaks highly of Xi Jinping's initiatives

Argentina's academics and business leaders have reacted positively to the address by China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit, in which he urged the members to steer the world economy in a responsible way.

Patricio Giusto is an expert on China at the Argentine Council for International Relations.

He said that President Xi Jinping's speech shows China's commitment to building an open world economy, and its pragmatic approach to realizing mutual benefits through its policy of reform and opening-up.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (6th R, front) poses for a group photo with other leaders attending the 13th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 30, 2018. [Photo:Xinhua]

"President Xi Jinping has talked about the achievements of China's 40-year reform and opening up, including China's contribution to the world economy, which has accounted for over 30 percent of global economic growth during the past decade. This demonstrates China's efforts towards building an open world economy."

Giusto pointed to a rising tendency towards unilateralism and protectionism, which has increased uncertainty and instability in fields such as the world economy and politics. He hopes that as the second largest economy, China can play a more important role in stabilizing the world economy, in order to achieve sustainable global economic development.

"In his speech, Xi Jinping made it very clear that maintaining economic globalization and the multilateral trading system are China's priorities. He reiterated that the spirit of partnership is the G20's most precious asset. Working together to face global economic challenges is a must. And China will continue to make efforts in leading the world economy in the right direction."

During his speech, the Chinese President called for the building of a free, open, and rule-based international economic environment. Giusto said that the president's proposals help to clarify the direction that the world economy is expected to move in.

"To achieve sustainable global economic growth, we're facing some challenges promoting economic globalization, maintaining trade liberalization, and reducing poverty through innovation. President Xi Jinping has talked about China's initiatives for each of these challenges, and promised to redouble efforts to implement them. Achieving win-win results is the great value of Chinese wisdom."

And Juan Pablo Tripodi, the executive president of the Argentine Investment and International Trade Agency, said that President Xi Jinping's strong advocacy of multilateralism provides a window of opportunity for Argentina.

"It's vital for us to connect with other countries. It's very beneficial to maintain trade with the world. Therefore, we believe that multilateralism is very beneficial, as it allows the world to trade, while following fair and clear rules. We believe that there is a very good opportunity to work with China. Our economies are highly complementary. Therefore, we need to work together to better integrate the economies of the two countries, and to better utilize the potential of both sides."

Bilateral trade between China and Argentina topped 13.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, a year on year increase of 12 percent. China is the biggest importer of Argentine agricultural products, including beans, beef, and chicken.