China will remain the engine of growth for the world due to its commitment to multilateral institutions, experience to fight COVID-19, and restraint of economic stimulus, according to an expert from the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

David Aikman, China Chief Representative at the WEF, said during an exclusive interview with CGTN that China doubled down and increased its engagement with multinational organizations such as the World Health Organization at a time when many other countries were turning their back on international systems. 

"The global pandemic has laid bare all of the faults, all of the cracks in the international system," said Aikman. "And in fact what we've seen with the pandemic is that we need multilateral institutions, we need the global system to function." 

He believed China and some other Asian economies were quick to put in place measures to not only protect citizens' lives and livelihoods, but to also keep economies going. There is a "tremendous wealth of knowledge of experience" gained from that, and he thought those could be valuable lessons for other countries still mired in the troubles brought by the coronavirus pandemic. 

"The collaboration and cooperation between countries and between companies is so important," he said, adding that China will remain the growth engine for the world partly because the country is six to eight months ahead of the rest of the world in terms of getting back to normalcy. He also thought it's inspiring to see China continuing its plan of reform and opening up even in the face of pandemic. 

When asked about how much inflationary risks of some of the major economies' stimulus packages might put on the world economy, Aikman said it's like entering an "uncharted territory" when taking into consideration the size and scope of the stimulus on a global scale. 

Aikman, however, said he was reassured by China's response and the ability to create an effective economic transformation without the same mass of stimulus that its peers adopted, which is why he thought it bodes well for the sustainability and the longevity of China's recovery.