Op-Ed Contributors

Mutual benefits, all-win results

By Xie Xuren (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-10 07:44

In addition, the reports have also raised many valuable policy recommendations in response to key issues on China's reform and development.

Ushering in advanced management concepts and operation mechanisms: China has ushered in advanced management concepts and standardized operation mechanisms, through loan-project cooperation with the Bank. The international competitive bidding system, disbursement and reimbursement system, project supervision system and project owner's responsibility system introduced through the projects have become prevailing practices in China's major engineering projects.

Training professionals to meet urgent needs: By organizing various kinds of training, study tours, seminars and workshops over the past 30 years China has cultivated a large talent pool with a sound understanding of market rules, profound professional knowledge and enormous international exposure, providing strong intellectual support to the country's endeavor to enhance its international financial and economic cooperation.

Deepening international development cooperation and sharing knowledge on harmonious development

Strengthening South-South Cooperation: With the Bank as a platform, China shows the world its development route marked with Chinese characteristics, reiterates the importance of respecting country ownership of development in developing countries, and calls for diversification in development roads and modalities. This has not only enriched the Bank's knowledge of development, but also actively contributed to the fulfillment of its mandate to fight poverty and promote global development.

Improving the Bank's governance structure: To help fulfill the consensus of the G20 Pittsburgh Summit and ensure the Bank's transfer of 3.13 percent voting power from its developed members to developing members, China actively participated in international consultations on the Bank's voting power reform, strengthened communications and coordination with other developing members, and actively called on the Bank to raise the voice and representation of developing countries as a whole in its reform. China's efforts played an important role in pushing forward the reform.

While the past shines with remarkable achievements, the future is filled with long and arduous tasks: China is a developing country with a large number of people still living in poverty. The economy is still facing many long-term development challenges.

The World Bank, as the biggest multilateral development institution in the world, rich in financial and intellectual resources, is expected to continue to play an active role in China's economic development pattern and economic restructuring and in scaling up South-South Cooperation.

In the foreseeable period, China will continue to follow its scientific approach to development, stick to country ownership in development and strengthen practical cooperation with the World Bank for mutual benefits and all-win results.

The author is the Minister of Finance of China.

(China Daily 09/10/2010 page8)