BILLIONAIRE investor David Rubenstein said Tuesday that he planned to continue to invest in China while urging a rapid end to the conflict in Ukraine to avoid a steeper global economic crisis. Rubenstein, co-founder of private equity giant the Carlyle Group, made the remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum at the Swiss mountain resort town of Davos. “It’s difficult to say where the [global] economy’s going right now, because there’s a lot of flux going on,” said the co-founder and non-executive co-chairman of the board of Carlyle, which manages some US$260 billion in assets. The world economy is “likely to slow down” while interest rates are going up around the world, and the “growth will be lower” because the COVID-19 pandemic is not ending yet, he noted, indicating the Ukraine conflict is also a major factor. Due to the surging energy prices amid the Ukraine crisis, Rubenstein predicted a global slowdown “which we’re already seeing, whether it’s a recession or not, people will define later on.” The world-renowned investor noticed the impact of COVID-19 and the global situation on China’s economy, reiterating his confidence in its potential. “In the long term, China has a very bright economic outlook, it has a large population, very hardworking people, well-educated and so forth,” Rubenstein said, praising the Chinese Government for having “a pretty good handle” on the economy. In response to some predictions in the West that the Chinese economy is going to do poorly, Rubenstein said those predictions “are generally wrong,” noting China has combined its methods with some Western ones to forge a unique way of developing its economy. “We will continue to invest there,” said the investor, whose fortune is worth US$3.8 billion according to a Forbes estimate. (Xinhua) | 