By CGTN’s Wang Yue
As the US will likely have additional rate hikes and the European countries are at risk of a chain of black swan events, many people are worried about the possibility of a global financial crisis. At this year’s Boao Forum, "Financial Crisis and Risk Coping" is one of the main topics.
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While a lot of economists say the economy is better shaped than many think it is, the additional US rate hikes and conditions in Europe still set off an alarm. But director of The Economist Corporate Network Rob Koepp told CGTN, “It’s not to the point of crisis thinking yet.”
“It’s true that the US interest rates set to rise,” but the black swans are regional affairs, Koepp said, adding that Asia’s economic performance remains encouragingly strong.
Many experts are optimistic about China. Jose Vinals, chairman of Standard Chartered, recently said China's financial risks are manageable.
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"Chinese authorities are on top of financial risks. A financial crisis is going to happen when the authorities deny everything and don't do anything. Here, the challenges are recognized, but it's important that they are dealt with the right speed and measures," said Vinals.
Koepp also showed his confidence in the Chinese government’s ability to work through the crisis, since the banking system is under central government control.
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He said he thinks China learnt a lot from the Asian financial crisis in 1997, grasping the importance of increasing productive investment. “China has a lot of property on its hands and it has the capacity for investment.”
As for this year’s Boao Forum, Koepp is hopeful it can encourage more investment into new high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence, something that would be “truly beneficial to the long-term economic growth” for the China and the region.
