GENEVA, Sept. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general Pascal Lamy said Thursday that China is playing an important role in contributing to the expansion of the global economy.

    China's strong growth has provided an important stimulus for export-led growth in the world during the past years as it follows through the implementation of its WTO commitments which are now in a decisive phase, Lamy said.

    In his message from Geneva to the Fourth Beijing International Forum on the WTO and China and the Sixth Beijing International Business Festival, Lamy said China has achieved what many developing countries aspire to achieve, referring to a stable economic growth and an attractive base for foreign direct investment.

    China has become the world's third largest trading nation behind the United States and Germany. The country's growth shows that an open economy is the best way to boost competitiveness, said Lamy.

    "Progressive opening of trade and investment has played a key role in China's economic growth and development over the past 25 years, " said the WTO chief.

    Meanwhile, Lamy said he was pleased to see that the Chinese Government has adopted an overall development strategy to build a "harmonized society" in which the environment is one of the priorities.

    The country must halt the tendency to treat environment as the extra costs of economic development, he said. Enditem