China should help draw up new world trade rules in the era of emerging economies, says former World Bank chief economist

China's position as an important trading partner to major economies in the Pacific Rim indicates that it should join in the discussions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Lin said.  The TPP is a free trade agreement currently being negotiated by 12 countries: the US, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam and Japan. According to the Financial Times progress on the deal stalled last December as the US and Japan failed to agree on details which would make it easier for  US businesses to sell their products in Japan.

Lin said that with the rise of emerging economies the advanced industrial nations which established long-standing world trade rules must allow the new economies to play their part in drawing up new rules.

Lin, who is the founder and director of the China Center For Economic Research,  made his comments while participating in a TV panel discussion at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia in China's Hainan Province this week.

In a different discussion, Lin said he believes China will achieve its 7.5% growth target for this quarter despite concerns in Beijing of an economic slow-down, reports the news website sina.com. 

"As I've said last year, China has the potential to maintain an 8-percent annual growth for some 20 more years," Lin said, according to the news service.