Highly effective investment in infrastructure by the Chinese government and the urbanization process in China will ensure the continuous rapid growth of the Chinese economy in the next 20 years, said a distinguished economist on Saturday.

Justin Yifu Lin, chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, made the statement during the "China and the Future of the Global Economy" conference held at the University of Chicago.

Lin was very positive about the Chinese government's efficiency in infrastructure investment.

During the Southeast Asian financial crisis last century, the Chinese government solved the economic development bottleneck by investing in infrastructure. It laid a solid foundation for the development of an export-oriented Chinese economy, he said.

"Since the financial crisis in the second half of 2008, the Chinese government implemented a dynamic financial policy and heavily invested in infrastructure. It successfully drove China's economic growth and contributed to the global economic growth as well."

Most developing countries are facing the economic bottleneck of a backward infrastructure. The Chinese government has set a good example for other developing countries with its highly efficient investment in infrastructure. The World Bank may consider providing more loans to developing countries to help them invest in infrastructure, he continued.

Lin said China's future economic development has greater potential compared with other major economies.

"Currently, China is a nation with medium income, with only a 40-percent urbanization rate. With faster development of China's urbanization, the demand for infrastructure investment will increase which will ensure a long term growth of Chinese economy."