MNI POLICY: China Shifts To Regional Pacts Amid Trade Tension

China is likely to forge more regional partnerships to counter growing challenges to its export-oriented growth, according to policy advisors speaking during the 5th National Development Forum held by National School of Development at Peking University Sunday.

China must also exploit the enormous domestic investment and consumption opportunities not only in response to trade tensions with the U.S., but also to fortify its own economy, said Zhang Junkuo, deputy head of the State Council's Development Research Center.

Exports as a portion of the economy will drop further from 17.4% in 2019, so China needs to pursue the "internal circulation" model which will make the economy largely immune from external uncertainties, said Justin Yifu Lin, a senior economist and honorary dean of the NSD.

China's pursuit of regional agreements will help overcome the U.S.-led restrictions against China and ensure it stays connected with the global economy, Lin noted.

Chinese exporters can diversify their destination markets to newly industrialized countries as U.S. and EU demand is not enough to digest all Chinese production, said Yu Miaojie, deputy dean of NSD.

As the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership bolsters China's trade and investment, China could apply some of the lessons from this success in pursuing the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, Yu said. The long-awaited China-EU bilateral investment treaty, if signed, can also add momentum to regional cooperation, he said.