China's growth offers opportunity over shock, experts say

After four days touring the frontlines of China's economic evolution, from manufacturing hub Xinyu to entrepreneurial engine Wenzhou, a group of former international political leaders and scholars converged in Beijing on Sunday for the Mingde Strategic Dialogue 2026.

Joining their Chinese counterparts for the third edition of the event hosted by Renmin University's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, the group gathered under the theme "Resilience and Vitality: New Opportunities China's Development Brings to the World" to discuss where the world's second-largest economy is headed and what it means for global growth.

Former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome, the first from the visiting delegation to take the floor, set an optimistic tone for the dialogue.

"The global economy is searching for silver linings, and today China's high-quality development is providing exactly that, helping serve as a stabilizer for the world economy," Teshome said.

China is accelerating the global green shift through mass electric vehicles (EVs) adoption, widening Global South trade corridors and offering zero-tariff access to some, and redefining supply chains through advanced manufacturing and digital innovation, he further explained.

Days ago on a single ride from his hotel to an airport in Shanghai, the former president conducted a personal tally along the highway: 240 green license plates reserved for new energy vehicles against just 27 traditional blue ones, real-time evidence of China's adoption of clean technology.

Chinese high-tech advances, particularly in EVs, present a vital opportunity for developing nations like Ethiopia, which now bans diesel vehicle imports to adopt affordable, eco-friendly EVs that cut oil import needs, Teshome told CGTN.

Moreover, Teshome highlighted that Chinese vehicles now exceed many legacy Western equivalents in quality, offering strong aesthetic appeal, modern design, comfort and styling for global consumers.

"The industrial achievements which China has had, we take it as an opportunity, not as a challenge, not as a threat," he told CGTN on the sidelines of the dialogue.

Yet, while developing nations view China's industrial expansion as a catalyst for their own economic transitions, some Western capitals have increasingly signaled alarm.

This divergence in global perspective became a central focus during the afternoon sessions, where attendees turned their attention to a seemingly growing wave of trade barriers erected against Chinese exports.

Addressing the dialogue, George Galloway, a former member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, argued that this backlash reflects a political double standard.