China has emerged as the star amid the global financial crisis. The Wall Street Journal reported that Roger Altman, chairman and founder of investment bank Evercore Partners, said at a conference of International Bar Association that "China is the only winner" in the crisis, because its economic growth is picking up again, and its financial system emerges intact after the crisis when the rest of the world is going through a "long, painful" process.

Altman's point is impressive but not entirely accurate. In this global financial crisis, China is not the only winner. There must be other winners in the world, but it is fair to say that China is a big winner.

There are many reasons for that conclusion. Amid the financial crisis, it is well known that the Chinese economy is the first to recover and resume growth; and, that the Chinese financial market is among the least battered. More outstanding, however, are the rise of China's competitiveness, its deeper integration with the global economy, and the experience gained by the Chinese leadership in handling the crisis.

First, though China has amazing achievements to show on the economic front in the last three decades, it is still a developing country in terms of its low ranking of per capita GDP in the world. China's economic strength has increased during the financial crisis. When the global assets have halved and almost all major economies are suffering recession, the Chinese economy, with asset shrinkage and damage far less severe than in the developed world, has been less affected by the crisis. The Chinese economy might be the first to emerge from the crisis, helping China markedly advance its status and competitiveness in the global economy.

Second, the Chinese government's reaction to the financial crisis was swift, and its countermeasures geared to the realities of the Chinese economy. For instance, immediately after the outbreak of the financial crisis in September 2008, China adjusted its monetary policy in accord with US bailout plan. In as short a period as a month, interest rates on deposits and loans of China's commercial banks were cut, the deposit reserve ratio tuned down, and the 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package announced. The swift response of the Chinese government not only showed the competence of the leadership, but also reinforced the basis for China to participate in international dialogues, negotiations and coordination for coming to terms with the crisis and seeking solutions.

Third, China's foreign exchange assets have been at huge risk since the crisis broke out. Mishandling the forex assets might have caused great loss. The management of the central bank has kept a cool head amid domestic and international pressures. China's resolve to raise its reserves of US treasury bills has stabilized the value of Chinese forex reserves and even increased returns, thereby expanding China's share of the global forex reserves.

It is against this background, especially of international recognition of the Chinese leadership's competence, that China emerged as a more effective global player. In the past, China was invited to the G8 meetings as an observer entitled to express opinion but without the right to participate in dialogues and negotiations. After the global financial crisis, all the most significant international conferences have invited China to attend as an equal partner.

Now that China is a party to dialogues and negotiations with others at these conferences and active in rule-making, China's status and functions on the global stage have changed fundamentally. China has become an indispensable partner, and its participation is at the core of international economy. Only if a country takes part in dialogues, negotiations, and the making of the rules of the game, can it effectively protect national interests and obtain higher international status. Had the financial crisis not occurred, it would have been daunting for China to take on such a role. From this perspective, China is the biggest winner in the crisis.

Of course, China has just begun to play an important role in shaping the global economic agenda. We need to get better at this and improve our efficacy at the global level. For that, China must industriously develop itself further, continue to communicate with other countries in an open way, and deal with the changing world more humbly.

The author is a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

(China Daily 07/21/2009 page8)