Blaming China for market rout obscures focus of real problem

BEIJING -- For equity market investors, last week marks a dark period as almost all bourses, except those closed for holidays, saw their benchmark indexes tumble.

This latest market crash shows that blaming China for the recent financial market turmoil is ill-founded as the Chinese stock markets were closed for lunar New Year holidays and the country did not release any economic data or new policies.

Many believe that the market turbulence is the result of various factors, including Japan's surprising adoption of negative interest rates, uncertainties over the prospect of interest rate hikes in the United States, plunging oil prices and concerns over the financial strength of leading banks in Europe.

Despite the fact that the global market is in a sense insulated from China's impact last week, there are still attempts to blame China for the meltdown, instead of focusing on real global economic woes.

The world economy has been troubled by a prolonged fragile recovery over the past years as countries used extremely loose monetary policies to prop up asset prices in an effort to avoid a bust of the bubbles. A deflationary trend has also made it even more difficult for decision-makers to deal with the challenges.

Admittedly, China is not completely immune from these problems as the country is pushing through its restructuring efforts. However, unlike what some commentators have claimed, the Chinese economy remains in a strong position and the possibility of a purported "hard landing" is very slim.

On the one hand, China's 6.9 percent GDP growth in 2015, though significantly lower than that of the previous years, is still among the highest in the world. Considering the growing size of the Chinese economy, its added output last year could easily surpass annual figures in the past.

On the other hand, the slowing growth is largely a result of China's endeavor to optimize its economic structure. And such efforts have already shown effect as the tertiary sector is becoming the potential new engine of the Chinese economy.

China aims to build a healthier, more sustainable economy and contribute more to global economy. It is believed that the international community is pleased to see a successful economic restructuring in China.

With its growing influence on the world stage, China finds itself increasingly falling victim to unwarranted blames in the economic arena.

It is of utmost urgency that major economies, especially the developed ones, take action to stabilize the market and restore investor confidence and support growth, rather than habitually pointing fingers at China.