The U.S. and European debt crisis is still spreading, and the global economic recovery remains sluggish. While the United States and European countries are stuck in a financial quagmire, the Chinese economy is growing steadily, and has become a stabilizer for the world economy."The global economic situation might have been even more calamitous had it not been for the impetus that China provided to growth and stability," said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

China's important role in saving world out of two crises

After the global financial crisis, China quickly unveiled a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package to ensure stable economic recovery, and had an impressive average annual growth rate of more than 9 percent over the past three years. The country has boosted global demand and confidence through its rapid growth, and become the main engine for the recovery of other economies.

Lagarde said that China has created 370 million jobs and lifted half a billion people out of poverty in merely three decades. When the global crisis hit, China was the first among G-20 countries to introduce economic stimulus measures. China's leadership role in global institutions has mirrored its economic successes.

China's imports boost global economic growth

As it increasingly participates in the global economy, China now plays an important role in promoting stable world economic growth.

Although China has made great contributions to world economic recovery, certain Western politicians have continued to blame China for global trade imbalances. It is because they fail to see the fact that China, while being a major exporter, is also a major importer, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in a statement.

"China will become the world's largest importer in the foreseeable future," Chen said. Without a balanced trade, the country would have performed much worse in dealing with the global financial crisis.

Steadily growing Chinese economy benefits the whole world

China has made significant contributions to global economic growth through its stable yet rapid economic development. According to statistics from the World Bank, China's contribution to world GDP growth reached nearly 15 percent in 2009, making it the largest contributor to world economic growth and the world's second largest economy. Furthermore, China's accumulated contribution to the world economy exceeded 20 percent from 2000 to 2009, higher than that of the United States, according to a Goldman Sachs research report.

Li Wei, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, believes that China's development is inseparable from that of the world, and global prosperity cannot be realized without China's contribution. Long-standing structural imbalances in the world economy are the root cause of the prolonged severe debt crisis, so both China and the rest of the world face an arduous and urgent challenge of addressing these structural imbalances.