Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has hailed China's significant role in driving global economic growth and believes there is potential for China and Europe to become "natural partners" over time given the current turmoil brought by the Trump administration's tariff policies.
Dvorkovich, who now serves as the president of the International Chess Federation, shared his views on China's key role in the global economy and his future expectations for the country, particularly amid the disruption brought by U.S. tariffs and other economic challenges, in an interview with the China Global Television Network(CGTN).
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Wednesday to begin a four-day state visit at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During talks between the two leaders in the Kremlin on Thursday, Xi said that China stands ready to work with Russia to safeguard the global multilateral trading system and keep the industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded.
Dvorkovich said China's focus on developing high-quality products and services, as well as its steady efforts to open up its economy and financial markets to the world, have enabled it to achieve continued growth over a number of years.
"Overall, I believe that the Chinese economy is developing quite successfully over the last couple of decades and showing an example to other countries as well. It's not just about price competitiveness, it's about the quality of the products and services that are growing, [and] also the steady opening of the Chinese economy and financial markets to the rest of the world. So, the Chinese economy plays a big role in the global economy and that supports growth," he said.
Despite the strength of China's exports worldwide, Dvorkovich pointed to the various challenges the country now faces, with the historically high tariffs imposed by the U.S. being the biggest immediate concern after U.S. President Donald Trump last month slapped a 145-percent tariff on all Chinese goods.
"There are pressures related to restrictions on exports and more competition and measures like tariffs against Chinese exports in the rest of the world, especially the United States, of course, with the introduction of record high tariffs," he said, adding that he doesn't think the measures taken by the Trump administration are based on anything other than a desire to disrupt global trade for their own gain.
The European Union has also placed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, but despite this Dvorkovich expressed optimism that there is room for Europe and China to become strong economic partners, though he stressed this would take time while emphasizing the importance of mutual respect in any negotiations.
"In Europe, it's a bit different. I think Europe and China can become natural partners at some point, not immediately, but with time. But those things, tariffs and other things, I think more or less will be resolved over the next few months. Negotiations are inevitable in some way, but only based on mutual respect, of course, that's important," he said.
Former Russian deputy PM hails China's global role, highlights potential for China-Europe partnership
