China's opening up helps world economy: Chinese ambassador

WASHINGTON - China's outward-looking vision will continue to bring about win-win scenarios for China and its partners across the world, including the United States, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Monday.

In an article published on CNN.com, Cui noted that China will hold the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party this week, which will set China's national direction for at least the next five years.

"This is a momentous time for China, not only because we expect that the party congress will illustrate that China's unrelenting effort in reform and opening up has added further momentum not only to its own development, but also to that of the world economy," Cui said in the article.

China had previously shown the party congresses can be the beginning of tremendous determination and development, he said.

Domestically, the Chinese people's life quality has seen a marked improvement, the ambassador noted, with the average life expectancy in China reaching 76.34 years in 2015 and more than 700 million people having been lifted out of poverty since 1978, according to the World Bank.

Internationally, China remains a leading performer in economic growth, the ambassador added. China, especially since its last party congress, also has taken steps to increase contributions to international economic governance, through strong endorsement of globalization and free trade, and groundbreaking endeavors like the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative, Cui said.

"Through approaches like these, we seek to bring the whole world forward by closing gaps in development and poverty -- which undermine global security -- while also engaging with partners like the United States in new and mutually constructive ways," Cui emphasized.

The United States, as China's second largest trading partner, has benefited immensely from these initiatives, Cui noted.

Cui also said: "While we have many areas of cooperation that promote global economic stability, there are still some issues that could threaten to weaken the relationship as a whole."

"However, through dialogue, our two countries can address these concerns, which in turn will benefit the global economy," said Cui.

China's success has demonstrated that an open and more prosperous China can benefit the world, Cui stressed, adding that its efforts will bring even bigger benefits to the US economy and the livelihood of the American people as China continues to develop its own economy and to strengthen the China-US economic relationship.

"As we go into this week's Party Congress, we do so with great optimism and a high regard for our partnership with the United States. If we continue to work together in the economic sphere and beyond, the whole world is sure to benefit," Cui said.