China's reopening fuels global growth optimism, Davos panel says
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China's reopening from pandemic restrictions could drive global growth beyond expectations and help avoid a broader recession even as some of the world's largest economies struggle to overcome a downturn, top finance officials at the World Economic Forum said.

China has loosened its COVID-19 management policies, fueling hopes that the world's second-largest economy can resurrect global growth even as the U.S., the eurozone and Britain flirt with a recession over the coming quarters.

"The reopening of China has to be the major event and it will be a key driver for growth," Laura M. Cha, the chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, told the forum in Davos.

"Asia is where the growth factor will be, you know, not only China, [but also] India, Indonesia; these are all emerging and very strong economies."

Her comments were echoed by others who saw China as the key to the global recovery.

"There's pent-up savings, there's pent-up demand, so we think that China will see very strong growth, especially as you get later in the year," Douglas L. Peterson, the president and chief executive officer of S&P Global told a panel discussion.