BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The world should work together to promote a greater degree of globalization during the pandemic in order to benefit mankind, instead of going against the trend, according to Nobel Prize winner in economics Erik Maskin.
Speaking via video link at the recent Global Science and Technology Innovation Think Tank Forum, as part of the 2020 Zhongguancun Forum held in Beijing, Maskin said there is no reason to retreat from the trend of globalization due to some problems in the process.
Instead, the world should work together to solve the problems and unswervingly promote the advance of globalization, he said.
"For example, American companies that were importing parts from Chinese companies discovered in the pandemic that they weren't able to get these parts, because imports were being interfered with, at least temporarily. And some people have argued we shouldn't have international supply chains. I think this argument, however, is wrong," he told the forum.
Maskin said such conclusions ignored the fact that it is possible to protect the supply chain from being disrupted, and a safer strategy would be multi-sourcing, which means a company having multiple suppliers for their parts.
Maskin called on governments to subsidize the diverse supply chains instead of banning the globalization of such chains.
He also called on the world to join together to tackle the challenge of climate change.
"Climate change is not just a scientific problem, it's also an economic and political problem. And I hope that after the pandemic, we make it our No.1 problem for solving," he said.
The 2020 Zhongguancun Forum, lasting from Thursday to Sunday, highlighted science and technology-based anti-epidemic efforts, with the aim of boosting innovation and global cooperation.
With the theme "meeting challenges with cooperation and innovation," the event drew some 2,600 representatives from over 40 countries and regions. Enditem
