China presents a huge opportunity for the rest of East Asia, not a threat, but only if the region's economies push ahead with crucial reforms, the World Bank said yesterday.
"There's a natural debate about the role of China in the coming years. Is it an opportunity? Is it a threat?" World Bank vice president for East Asia and Pacific Jemal-ud-din Kassum said at the launch of a book on East Asia's competitiveness.
"From our perspective, we come down on the side of very significant opportunities," he said.
Chinese imports' share of global GDP is expected to double in the next five years especially after Beijing's entry into the WTO, he said.
"Our feeling is that China represents an opportunity because the challenge is to complement China, not necessarily to compete head on," he said, adding the opportunities lie in cross-border supply chains.
The book, entitled Can East Asia Compete?, says China's economic weight and political presence "will surpass that of Japan in 15 to 20 years and will pose a challenge to that of the United States."
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