The workers weld at a workshop of an automobile manufacturing enterprise in Qingzhou City, east of China's Shandong province, February 28, 2021. Xinhua With geopolitical conflicts intensifying and the COVID 19 epidemic continuing, China needs to protect its industrial chain from external and internal risks and focus on globalization so as to counter the US attempt to contain its economic development, several renowned economists said at a key forum on Saturday. There have been growing concerns over China's economic prospects in recent days, as US politicians have used China's zero-COVID strategy to exacerbate a supply chain decoupling push from China, while imposing high-tech export restrictions as leverage to encircle China's technological development. In the face of the complicated international situation and unprecedented challenges, China needs to maintain dynamic economic growth while opening up faster, said Justin Lin Yifu, former chief economist of the World Bank and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference CPPCC National Committee. Lin made remarks at the Tsinghua PBCSF Chief Economists Forum in Beijing, which focused on China's economic and policy outlook amid a turbulent 2022. The latecomer advantage still can ensure that China maintains 8 percent growth potential and achieves 5 to 6 percent growth per year, and the country will contribute at least a quarter every year to global growth, Lin noted. China is the largest trading partner for more than 120 countries and the second largest trading partner for more than 70 countries. That means that for more than 90 percent of the countries around the world, the growth in China will be an opportunity to promote their own growth and employment as long as China can maintain dynamic economic growth and adhere to opening-up, which is the best solution for China to counter the US decoupling push, Lin pointed out. If China can maintain its growth potential by the time the per capita GDP of China reaches half that of the US, the world may enter a new stable situation, Lin said. The US will maintain good relations with China at the time, which would be important for their leading companies to maintain its global leadership and employment in the country. Even as the economic and trade relationship between the US and China intensifies, economists agree that while China could buy fewer US Treasury bonds, it needs to buy more US products and live up to the phase one trade deal as much as possible, despite some objective obstacles and difficulties. As to how to deal with external shocks and risks in the short term, Li Daokui, Mansfield Freeman Chair Professor of Economics at Tsinghua University, noted at the forum that it is important for China to do its own things well. At a time when many factories in China are facing disruptions due to strict anti-epidemic measures, the US is adopting a variety of tools to convince Asia-Pacific countries to change their supply chains out of China. The US held a two-day summit with eight ASEAN leaders on Thursday and Friday. The official launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is expected to be announced later this month, which is the subject of US President Joe Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan. In the current situation, China must find ways to protect the stability and safety of the industrial chains while implementing a dynamic zero-COVID policy, Li pointed out. Protecting the industrial chain is essential to the growth potential of China in the future.