By He Yin, People’s Daily
Two high-profile events, the China Development Forum (CDF) 2023 and the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023, were recently held in Beijing and south China’s Hainan province, respectively.
The two events attracted global attention and presented to attending guests the vitality of the Chinese economy and the certainty of China’s development. Those who attended the meetings said they are confident in China’s prospects and are looking forward to the opportunities to be brought about by the country’s development.
At present, momentous changes of a like not seen in a century are accelerating across the world; regional conflicts and disturbances are frequent; and the global economic recovery is sluggish.
According to a survey by Boston Consulting Group, 75 percent of business leaders among the respondents believe uncertainty is the biggest challenge facing enterprises around the world in 2023.
Under such a background, the Chinese economy is showing signs of recovery and injecting valuable certainty into global development.
In the first two months this year, China’s consumption, investment and other major economic indicators were on a positive trajectory, with stable commodity price and obviously improved market expectation. Besides, the Purchasing Managers’ Index of the country’s manufacturing sector was above 50 in the same period, which indicated expanding economy.
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva said on the CDF 2023 that China’s robust rebound means the country is set to account for around one third of global growth in 2023.
According to a survey released by the BFA, 83.33 percent of enterprises list China as a key area for business expansion this year.
The certainty of China’s development augurs well for the world economy and is an important opportunity expected by global enterprises.
Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise around the world, few countries are obsessed with decoupling and severing supply chains. However, those who attended the CDF 2023 and the BFA Annual Conference 2023 all saw that China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, striving to create new opportunities for the world with its own development.
Head of the KPMG Asia Pacific noted that a constantly opening China will definitely provide more opportunities for global enterprises doing business in the Chinese market, adding that the country’s huge domestic market, complete industrial system and diligent and innovative people are very attractive for foreign investors.
In the first two months this year, China’s foreign direct investment, in terms of actual use, reached 268.44 billion yuan ($39.02 billion), and the number has kept growing. Foreign investors are confident in China’s efforts to expand institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management and standards and to work with all countries and all parties to share the opportunities from its institutional opening-up.
Consensus and cooperation are particularly important in the face of common challenges.
“Cooperation” and “solidarity” were buzzwords of the CDF 2023 and the BFA Annual Conference 2023. Attending guests spoke highly of China’s major country responsibility to promote global cooperation and common development at the critical juncture of history.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore welcomes China’s commitment to continue opening up its economy, and to continue supporting multilateralism and regional cooperation, and looks forward to all parties contributing more actively to regional and global development and prosperity, to benefit Asia and the world.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. China’s actions in the past 10 years fully proved that the country is a key force driving solidarity and cooperation amid profound changes unseen in a century.
Michele Geraci, former Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, noted that the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind is to leave no one behind in development, rebalance the development of the Global South and North and ensure the sustainability of development.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim believes that the achievements of the BRI fully mirror the significance of solidarity and cooperation among countries.
China enjoys strong growth momentum and is confident in and capable of promoting high-quality economic development. It will write a new chapter of open cooperation and win-win results, and will contribute more to the development of the world economy.
