"China Buffer" stabilizes world economy amid tensions, crisis
“中国缓冲”在紧张局势和危机中稳定世界经济
BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- With ship flows through the Hormuz Strait having largely collapsed during the latest Middle East tensions, China has emerged as a stabilizing force for energy prices by sharply cutting its oil purchases, thereby easing pressure on the global market.
北京新华社9月9日来电——在最近的中东紧张局势中，霍尔木兹海峡的船舶流量锐减，几近崩溃，中国作为能源价格的稳定力量，通过大幅度降低石油购入，进而缓解全球市场的压力。
Data released by China's customs authority on Tuesday showed that China imported 320.9 million tonnes of crude oil in the first eight months of the year, down 14.6 percent year on year.
中国海关周二公布的数据显示，今年前8个月，中国进口原油3.209亿吨，相较往年同比下降14.6%。
From February to May, China slashed its crude oil imports by nearly 40 percent, or 4.6 million barrels per day, "helping significantly to ease wider pressures in the global market," read a commentary published on the official website of the International Energy Agency.
国际能源署官网的一条评论写道，从2月到5月，中国将原油进口量削减了近40%，即每天减少了460万桶，“这有效缓解全球市场的大范围压力”。
This is made possible partly because of the large inventories and lower refinery runs in China. Moreover, China has become less dependent on oil as by 2025, renewable energy accounted for about 60 percent of the country's total installed power generation capacity. The rapid adoption of electric vehicles has also reduced its reliance on oil.
这在一定程度上是出于中国的庞大石油库存和较低的炼油厂经营。此外，截止2025年，中国对石油的依赖程度已经显著降低，可再生能源将要占全国总发电装机耗能来源的近60%。电动汽车的快速接受与应用也进一步减少了对石油的依赖程度。
China's energy resilience and how it cushions the global market against disruptions offer a revealing lens through which to view its broader economic role. Rather than creating the so-called "China Shock," a narrative that frames China's industrial might as a force that puts pressure on competitors, the Chinese economy has demonstrated both its readiness and capability to contribute to the world as a shock absorber.
中国的能源韧性以及它如何缓冲全球市场受到的干扰，为全世界同时提供了一个揭示性的视角，以审视其更广泛的经济作用。中国经济没有制造所谓的“中国冲击”，即并没有将中国的工业实力当做一种对竞争对手施压的力量，相反，中国经济已经证明了其作为减震器为世界做出贡献的意愿和能力。
At multiple critical junctures, China has acted as a buffer against major risks and shocks facing the global economy.
在多个关键时刻，中国充当了抵御全球经济面临的重大风险的防护网，减少所受冲击的缓冲器。
In the 2008 global financial crisis, while much of the developed world fell into recession, China's swift stimulus package not only stabilized its own economy but also sustained demand for commodities and intermediate goods from dozens of trading partners, helping arrest a deeper global downturn.
在2008年全球金融危机中，当大多数发达国家陷入经济衰退时，中国迅速推出的经济刺激方案不仅稳定了自身经济，还维持了数十个贸易伙伴对大宗商品和中间产品的需求，帮助组织了更深层次的全球经济下行的产生。
During the COVID-19-induced economic contraction, China was the first major economy to register positive annual growth, and its early resumption of manufacturing production provided critical supplies of medical equipment, electronics and daily necessities to pandemic-stricken regions worldwide.
在新冠病毒引发的经济下行期内，中国是第一个实现经济年度正增长的主要经济体，其提前恢复制造业生产为全球受疫情影响的地区保障了医疗设备、电子产品和日用品等关键物资的供应。
China's role as a supply-side stabilizer has since become even more evident. In recent years, as the global economy has struggled with sluggish growth and elevated inflation, China's high-quality, efficient and cost-competitive products have enriched global supply, lowered living costs and helped ease inflationary pressures across the world.
此后，中国作为供给侧稳定器的作用愈发凸显。近年来，在全球经济增长乏力、通胀高企的情况下，中国优质、高效、高性价比的产品丰富了全球供给，降低了生活成本，缓解了全球通胀压力。
Backed by its comprehensive industrial system, China has maintained steady growth in foreign trade while effectively cushioning the impact of rising global costs and supply-chain disruptions, thereby helping ease international inflationary pressures, noted Hsia Hua Sheng, associate professor of finance at Getulio Vargas Foundation's Sao Paulo School of Business Administration.
Getulio Vargas基金会圣保罗工商管理学院金融学副教授夏华生指出，依托于完整的工业体系，中国对外贸易保持稳步增长，同时有效缓冲了全球成本上涨和供应链中断的影响，从而有助于缓解国际通胀压力。
This has benefited both advanced and emerging economies while strengthening market confidence in global production networks, he added.
他补充说，这同时有利于发达经济体和新兴经济体，同时增强了市场对全球生产网络的信心。
The role has become particularly visible in the clean energy sector. Through technological innovation and intense market competition, China has built the world's largest and most integrated supply chains for the new energy industry.
这一作用在清洁能源领域尤为明显。通过技术创新和激烈的市场竞争，中国打造了全球规模最大、一体化程度最高的新能源产业供应链。
Over the past decade, the global average cost of electricity from wind and solar power has fallen by more than 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively. Chinese solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles have made the energy transition more affordable for developing economies, helping them tackle the impact of climate change.
过去十年，风能和太阳能发电的全球平均电力成本分别下降了超60%和80%。中国的太阳能电池板、风力涡轮机、电池和电动汽车的应用使发展中经济体更加负担得起能源转型，帮助它们应对气候变化的影响。
This cushioning effect has benefited millions of households across the world. During Europe's recent heatwave, Chinese air conditioners became a hot commodity as European consumers rushed to keep cool. Behind that surge was China's ability to respond quickly to demand gaps, relying on its efficient and innovative supply chains.
这种缓冲效应使全球数百万家庭受益。在欧洲最近的热浪期中，随着欧洲消费者争相购买设备解暑，中国空调成为抢手货。这种激增的背后是中国依靠其高效和创新的供应链快速应对需求缺口的能力。
Such gains are not confined to consumers, but also extend upstream into production. For many developing economies, imports from China, including machinery, equipment and industrial components, are critical inputs that help local firms cut costs, raise efficiency, expand capacity and connect more deeply with global markets, cushioning them against disruptions in supply chains and the effects of rising trade protectionism.
这种收益不只局限于消费者，还延伸到上游生产。对许多发展中经济体来说，从中国进口的机械、设备和工业零部件是帮助当地企业削减成本、提高效率、扩大产能和更深入地与全球市场联系的关键生产要素，帮助其缓冲供应链中断和贸易保护主义抬头的影响。
As the world's largest manufacturing country, China has built extensive, well-integrated production capacity across a wide range of industrial goods, intermediate products and consumer goods, allowing producers around the world to access key equipment, components and intermediate goods at lower cost and with greater efficiency, noted Geng Nan, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
中国国际贸易经济合作研究院研究员耿楠指出，作为世界上最大的制造业国，中国在广泛的工业品、中间产品和消费品领域建立了覆盖面广、配套完整的生产能力，使世界各地的生产商能够以更低的成本和更高的效率获得关键设备、零部件材料和中间产品。
A 2025 World Bank working paper found that imports of intermediate goods from China helped boost productivity, capacity utilization and manufacturing employment in Ethiopia, with particularly strong employment gains in labor-intensive industries.
世界银行2025年的一份工作论文提出，从中国进口中间产品有助于提高埃塞俄比亚的生产力、产能利用率和制造业就业率，其中劳动密集型行业的就业增长尤为显著。
As a market-side buffer, China's demand provides an important outlet for producers around the globe, particularly when protectionism elsewhere is narrowing access to major markets.
作为市场方面的缓冲力量，中国的进口需求为全球生产商提供了一个重要的出口途径，特别是在其他地方的保护主义压缩进入主要市场的机会时。
Its continued opening up, including the zero-tariff treatment extended from May to imports from all 53 African countries with which China has diplomatic relations, offers developing economies greater access to one of the world's largest consumer markets and serves as another source of support for global trade.
中国的对外开放政策地持续进行，举措体现在方方面面，包括从5月起，为所有53个已建交的非洲国家的进口商品提供零关税待遇，为发展中经济体提供了更多进入世界上最大的消费市场之一的机会，并成为全球贸易的另一个重大支撑。
In August, China's imports expanded by 21.7 percent, with growth exceeding that of exports for a sixth successive month. As China moves to expand domestic consumption and pursue more balanced trade, its vast market is expected to create growing demand for commodities, intermediate goods, advanced equipment, consumer products and services.
8月份，中国进口数量增大21.7%，增长连续第6个月超过出口。随着中国扩大国内消费和更高程度地追求贸易的平衡，其庞大的市场预计将引起对大宗商品、中间产品、先进设备、消费品和服务业的需求不断增长。
Seen in this light, China's contribution to the global economy goes beyond traditional output expansion, encompassing multiple roles as a growth engine, a major source of demand, a key supply hub, a driver of green development and a platform for cooperation, noted Gong Liutang, a professor at the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University.
北京大学光华管理学院教授龚六堂指出，从这个角度来看，中国对全球经济的贡献了不止传统的产品扩增，还包括增长引擎、主要需求原材料、关键供应枢纽、绿色发展驱动力和合作平台等多重作用。
