Slowing international growth makes unity imperative, webinar told

Emerging economies should continue to work with more countries and pool resources to deal with challenges of development to be successful, a webinar has been told.

Zhou Qiangwu, vice-president and chief administrative officer of the New Development Bank, said the economies of emerging markets are facing unprecedented challenges for several reasons, including geopolitical change, the pandemic and irresponsible macroeconomic policies that some developed countries have adopted.

Zhou was speaking at the International Seminar on Emerging Economies under Global Challenges, organized by the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Friday.

These challenges also include the complex internal and external environment of emerging markets, such as rising debt and capital outflow, the webinar heard.

Since the start of the year, growth forecasts for emerging economies have been constantly revised downward for this year and next, with the world economy expected to grow at about 3.5 percent this year and 4 percent next year, compared with 6.8 percent last year, Zhou said.

In such a complex and challenging environment, close collaboration among emerging markets is invaluable, he said. Emerging markets could draw on each other's strengths, which could also bring more certainty in a turbulent international environment.

The New Development Bank, an important product of collaboration in BRICS, which brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has approved loans totaling $32 billion for 90 projects, using several times that amount of money to support member countries' development in areas such as clean energy, transport, urban development, water and sanitation, social infrastructure and digital infrastructure.

In February 2020 the New Development Bank provided about $9 billion in emergency loans to BRICS countries to help them fight the pandemic and recover economically.

Multiple challenges

Yao Zhizhong, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has disrupted global commodities and supply chains, and this has affected countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The United States, to maintain its hegemony, has engaged in great-power competition, arbitrarily used its domestic law to impose sanctions on other countries, and created exclusive circles for various reasons, Yao said. All these added up to the challenges that emerging economies face.

Emerging economies should adhere to people-centered development and constantly adjust and improve domestic governance to avoid interference from other countries. Moreover, they should unite to oppose unfair international rules and commit themselves to building an inclusive global governance system.

Oscar Parrilli, president of the Patria Institute, a think tank in Buenos Aires, and a senator in Argentina, said countries in Latin America have always had a common vision of making growth more equitable, independent and balanced.

Emerging countries need to find common solutions and pool all resources, especially financial ones, to tackle development challenges and inequality, rather than adopting measures such as sanctions.

Latin American and Caribbean countries need to work together with China, and Argentina is willing to offer its knowledge, expertise and resources to other countries, he said.