In a recent interview, Park Zhishui, Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), stated that China's share of intermediate product trade in the Asia Pacific region has been continuously increasing in recent years, and China plays an important role in the Asia Pacific value chain. The 2023 Asian Economic Integration Report released by the Asian Development Bank recently shows that the economic recovery in the Asia Pacific region is largely thanks to China, which contributes 64.2% to the region's economic growth. China also contributed 37.6% of the growth in goods trade and 44.6% of the growth in service trade in the Asia Pacific region. There is a large amount of intermediate product trade between countries in the Asia Pacific region, and China's share of intermediate product trade has been continuously increasing in recent years. Therefore, China is undoubtedly an important link in the supply chain value chain of the region, "said Park Zhishui. The report shows that in the past three decades, the share of intra regional trade between the European Union and North America has almost stagnated, while intra regional trade in the Asia Pacific region has maintained steady growth, largely thanks to China's trade volume. In addition, the closeness of the value chain in the Asia Pacific region is significantly higher in the middle and low-end technology fields than in the high-tech and high value-added fields. Park Zhishui believes that with the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and other bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, the tightness of supply chain value chains in the Asia Pacific region, especially in high-tech and high value-added fields, is expected to further enhance. When discussing the prospects of China's economy, Park Zhishui expressed confidence in China's expected economic growth target of around 5% this year. The Chinese economy is on the track of recovery, "he said. The performance of the Chinese economy in the first quarter exceeded market expectations, and the Asian Development Bank is optimistic about the growth prospects of the Chinese economy this year. Park Zhishui believes that in the current context of sluggish growth and weak external demand in developed economies, China's economic growth this year will be more driven by domestic demand. Although Chinese consumers have not yet fully regained confidence, with the passage of time and the continuous efforts of policies, domestic demand will ultimately be boosted. We have seen economic recovery momentum in many countries in the Asia Pacific region after the epidemic, and China is no exception. With the improvement of consumer sentiment and the recovery of demand, the economic operation will gradually rebound and improve, "said Park Zhishui. He noticed that in recent years, consumption has become an important engine of China's economic growth. With the continuous expansion of the middle-income group and the upgrading of residents' consumption capacity, China's domestic demand potential is expected to be further unleashed. The market in China is too large, and for multinational companies, no one wants to miss the development opportunities here, "said Park Zhishui, believing that China will continue to become one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. (New News Agency)