Top policymakers' assurance about the efficacy of macroeconomic control, justified by China's speedy and stable economic growth, will help boost public confidence in the country's ability to meet challenges ahead.

However, it is their sharpened awareness to take international factors into account that reassures us that the country is better prepared to address domestic problems in view of their increasing global implications.

At a press conference held on the sidelines of the National People's Congress yesterday, top Chinese policymakers elaborated on their understanding of economic issues of public concern.

China's development chief Ma Kai firmly defended the effectiveness of the country's macroeconomic regulation.

The Chinese economy has just witnessed five years of double-digit growth without major fluctuations. Such achievements should certainly be attributed to all the macro measures the government has adopted to iron out various problems that emerged during the course of economic growth.

If not a guarantee, the past success should serve as a good guide for the government to achieve its task of preventing both economic overheating and serious inflation this year.

Yet, more impressive than his thorough grasp of the country's economic reality is the top economic planner's emphasis on the need to view domestic problems in a global context.

By comparing China's accumulation of trade surplus with those of developed countries like the United States, Germany and Japan which all lasted for several decades, the development chief gave us a real insight into the prospects of the country's trade growth.

China's external imbalance, a cause of many domestic problems like excessive export-led investment, is also a global and long-term issue in the era of globalization. As Ma correctly pointed out, the key question is not the existence of surplus itself, but whether it is the result of fair play and beneficial to both sides of the international trade.

The central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan's explanation on the monetary policy in line with both domestic and international situations is also an encouraging sign.

China has decided to adopt a tight monetary policy to cool economic growth and fight inflation this year. Zhou's refusal to take appreciation of renminbi as a major anti-inflation weapon as well as his recognition of the interest rate gap between China and the US as one of the factors determining domestic interest rates all proved Chinese officials' growing awareness of enhanced interaction between domestic policies and the global development.

China's rise as a major responsible player in the world economy will only make it more needed than ever such global thinking in its policymaking.

(China Daily March 7, 2008)