Experts share opinions on how China can put best foot forward and lead by example in today's rapidly changing world
Editor's note: China Daily launched Vision China in 2018 as a bridge for communication between China and the rest of the world. Focusing on developments in both China and abroad, Vision China invites influential opinion leaders to share their ideas on a wide range of topics. The latest edition of Vision China was held on Thursday in Beijing. Themed "High-quality Development: Shaping the Future", the event welcomed officials, entrepreneurs and experts to share their thoughts on China's pivotal role in stabilizing and propelling worldwide development.
Private sector to play key role in major projects
Private enterprises are expected to lead and contribute to China's major national technological projects, as the country's private sector bids to become a critical driver of technological innovation, economic growth and international cooperation, said a senior official from a national body serving the sector on Thursday.
Qiu Xiaoping, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said: "In China, the private sector's role in driving innovation has never been more crucial. Major national scientific and research infrastructure is being further opened up to these private enterprises, allowing them to lead or collaborate on more groundbreaking projects."
READ MORE: Outlook for, benefits of high-quality development in spotlight
Qiu, who is also a member of the Leading Party Members' Group of the federation, said that rising Chinese private enterprises are doubling down on their investments in strategic emerging industries from high-end manufacturing to advanced materials.
One of their particular focuses is on future industries such as quantum computing and life sciences, which are poised to define the next generation of economic competition globally, he said.
Data from the federation shows that private enterprises have become a key pillar of China's innovation ecosystem, contributing over 70 percent of the nation's technological breakthroughs, making up for more than 90 percent of national high-tech businesses and over 80 percent of national "little giant" companies — small and medium-sized enterprises recognized for their specialized expertise and innovation.
"Their innovative growth aligns with China's efforts to build a modernized industrial system and foster collaboration between large corporations and nimble SMEs. This ecosystem is expected to create fertile ground for innovation, driving the private sector to not only compete but thrive on a global scale," he said.
As private enterprises expand their reach, Qiu noted their economic influence has become undeniable. Collectively, they contribute over 50 percent of the nation's tax revenue, more than 60 percent of GDP and over 80 percent of urban employment.
On the global front, he emphasized that these firms account for over half of China's total import and export volume, making them a vital force in driving international trade.
"China is expanding high-level opening-up and fostering an open world economy," he said. "It also provides a vast stage for private enterprises to explore international markets. More private enterprises will build on their domestic success while expanding globally."
China's high-level openness to foster win-win opportunities
China's high-level openness will offer a vast market and win-win opportunities to the world in the face of an international landscape marked by the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, said Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, on Thursday.
"The world is now in a period of turbulence and transformation," Qu said. "Economic fragmentation is being exacerbated, while globalization is encountering headwinds. The world is facing a stern test of either forging ahead against the current or losing ground."
The fragmentation of the global economy, as estimated by the International Monetary Fund in January, has the potential to result in a 7 percent reduction in global GDP, roughly equivalent to the combined GDP of France and Germany in a single year.
To pass this test, China is steadfastly becoming more open, fostering cooperation and seeking mutual gain, showcasing its grand vision and sense of responsibility as a major country, Qu said.
"We keenly perceive the global anticipation that the Chinese market offers mutually beneficial prospects and has the eagerness to seize the broader cooperation opportunities from the flourishing development of China's emerging industries," he said.
Undeniably, the Chinese economy itself has indeed encountered some internal and external challenges recently. Nevertheless, it has demonstrated immense resilience, significant potential and considerable flexibility, he said.
Over the past few months, Chinese policymakers have put forward a holistic set of forceful policies, including fiscal, monetary and property market measures, aimed at giving a much-needed boost to the economy to anchor market sentiment and strengthen recovery.
As the effects of the policy package continue to unfold, evidence of the economy's vitality and momentum is growing, reinforcing market confidence and catalyzing a notable upsurge in both market sales and the service industry, Qu said.
Meanwhile, foreign investment in renminbi assets is showing a positive trend, with many international institutions raising their expectations for China's economic growth, Qu added.
Due to China's policy shift, financial services group Nomura increased its China full-year GDP growth prediction in mid-November to 4.8 percent, compared to its prior 4.7 percent forecast.
Before Nomura's upgrade, both UBS Investment Bank and JPMorgan Chase had already raised their forecasts for China's full-year economic expansion this year to 4.8 percent, up from previous estimates.
Facts will once again prove that pessimistic narratives surrounding so-called overcapacity, a debt crisis, hard landing or economic collapse are merely the wishful thinking of some foreign media and politicians, Qu said.
Growth sought to steady unstable global landscape
With the global economy entering a period of turbulence and change, embracing openness and fostering new quality productive forces will enable China to generate fresh economic momentum and strengthen its competitive advantages, paving the way for sustainable and high-quality growth, a scholar from the University of International Business and Economics said on Thursday.
Huang Baoyin, Party secretary of the Beijing-based UIBE, said that as the global economy grapples with the spread of unilateralism and protectionism, developing new quality productive forces is essential for seizing opportunities and addressing challenges through expanded opening-up. Enhancing capabilities and standards of openness through international cooperation will also benefit the country.
New quality productive forces are advanced productivity measures freed from traditional economic growth modes and productivity development paths. Such forces are high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality, and are in line with China's new development philosophy.
In recent years, the United States and certain Western countries have persistently pursued strategies of decoupling and supply chain disruption, as well as promoting "anti-globalization" and "de-globalization" activities.
Huang said these actions have severely disrupted the efficient global flow of production factors, hindered the optimal allocation of resources and significantly impacted the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.
As China navigates a critical phase of transforming its development model, optimizing its economic structure and transitioning its growth drivers, the cultivation of new quality productive forces has become both a key requirement and a priority for advancing high-quality development, he added.
While new challenges and complexities have emerged in the macroeconomic environment, the core strengths of China's economy remain steadfast, Huang said.
"These advantages include a vast domestic market, robust economic resilience and considerable growth potential, demonstrating that opportunities continue to outweigh challenges," he said, emphasizing that economic globalization remains a dominant trend, with technological progress and industrial transformation serving as powerful drivers of growth.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China contributed an average of 24.8 percent annually to global economic growth from 1979 to 2023, ranking first globally, with its economic dividends benefiting all countries.
IMF official highlights reform-driven progress
The reforming efforts China has made over the past 40-odd years have brought fruitful results in terms of economic development, and the country is expected to continue being the major growth driver for the global economy, said a senior official at the International Monetary Fund.
"China's growth was the result of reforms that China undertook to generate that growth, not a miracle. That's a lesson actually for the world and the country itself going forward — growth depends on reform," said Steven Barnett, the IMF's senior resident representative in China, in Beijing on Thursday.
In terms of how to keep pushing ahead with reforms, Barnett said China needs to boost market-oriented development.
"The recipe for doing so is to give the market a more decisive role in allocating resources and ensure a level playing field," he said.
China is set to contribute over a quarter of global economic growth this year and next, maintaining its position as the biggest driver of the world economy despite challenges, Barnett added.
The IMF official said that China is projected to contribute 0.9 percentage points — or around 28 percent — to global growth in 2024, based on the IMF's forecast of 3.2 percent global growth and 4.8 percent growth in China.
This will make China continue to be the single largest contributor to global growth, he said, adding that the same figures of contribution are expected in 2025, underscoring the nation's continued importance to the global economy.
The contribution does not yet take into account the positive spillover of China's growth on other economies, Barnett said.
Stronger growth in China would be good for China, and it would also help lift demand for the global economy, he said.
While there are concerns that China's consumer demand has been subdued, Barnett said that no major economy saw household consumption grow as quickly as China over the two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barnett said the real challenge is that, though consumption expanded fast, GDP growth has been even higher, leading to a relatively low share of consumption in GDP. In 2019, household consumption accounted for 39.2 percent of China's GDP, versus 67 percent in the United States.
This structural imbalance presents an opportunity for China: By transitioning to a consumption-driven growth model — whereby consumption grows faster than GDP — the share of consumption in GDP could steadily increase, unlocking new economic potential for the long term, he said.
Country expected to achieve 2024 forecast
With China's proactive policy taking effect, the Asian Development Bank expects the growth of the Chinese economy this year will be within the target range of about 5 percent, which was announced by the government early this year.
Safdar Parvez, country director for China at the bank, said on Thursday that there was a positive outlook for the world's second-largest economy in both the short term and long term.
"The (Chinese) economy remains steady, growing at 4.8 percent in the first nine months of this year. This has been supported by strong export performance and policy measures to boost demand and improve the property sector situation," he said.
"Recent announcements on fiscal and monetary policy actions show that the authorities acknowledge the importance of addressing current challenges by deploying a range of stimulus measures."
He appreciated the country's recently released debt swap program, which he said could help provide relief to local governments and support economic stability, against the background that the drop in land sale revenue and limited fiscal space for local governments are hampering local spending and new infrastructure investment.
However, Parvez noted some key downside risks for the Chinese economy in the short term, including a prolonged correction in the property market, subdued consumption and rising trade tensions.
To enhance China's potential growth in the long run, he said there is a recognized need to optimize the allocation of capital, particularly directing credit toward more productive sectors such as the private sector, with a special focus on fostering innovative small and micro businesses, as well as large enterprises.
Parvez also highlighted the significant transformation in China's economic growth model and the deepened partnership between the country and the development bank.
China's pursuit of high-quality development, with its ambitious dual carbon goals and leading role in renewable energy, is essential for high-quality development. Parvez said more efforts are needed in ecological development and environmental protection, and that the bank stands ready to assist in this journey.
"ADB and China have collaborated for nearly four decades, witnessing China's shift from a high growth model to one based on high quality and sustainability," he said. "The partnership has evolved from a simple borrower-lender relationship to a multifaceted collaboration aimed at enhancing the quality of growth and improving development prospects in the Asia and Pacific region."
Ouyang Shijia contributed to this story.
Cooperation vital to solving problems
China's opening-up efforts and high-quality development benefit both its domestic market and foreign countries, and cooperation rather than isolation is how countries should seek to jointly identify problems, possibilities and solutions, Jack Perry, chairman of the 48 Group, and CEO of London Export Corporation, said on Thursday.
Continuing a 70-year tradition of getting to know China better and seeking cooperation with the nation, Perry said the speed of China's growth is significant, and the focus of the country's leadership is high-quality development, high-level opening-up and new quality productive forces, which are not just words but also a statement and a window into China's forward thinking for the future.
In 1952, Perry's grandfather, Jack Perry Senior, started trade relations in China with a line of credit from Bank of China. In 1953, he led a delegation on an icebreaker mission to the country and signed a trade agreement for 30 million pounds ($38.18 million) in Beijing. The next year, the 48 Group was officially established.
While the practices of isolationism and restrictions in areas such as the semiconductor industry have emerged in global trade and investment, Perry said that China is maintaining its opening-up efforts, pushing high-quality development and extending welcoming hands to the outside world for cooperation, which is significant for the country and the world.
"The fundamental reason that people work with China is that they have their hands out wanting to learn and wanting to help the Chinese people as well as benefit other countries and businesses," Perry said.
"If you focus on high-quality development, that means that you're trying to be a player in tomorrow's industries," he said.
As China focuses on high-quality development, the 48 Group has invested in artificial intelligence technologies and has expressed faith in China's future, he added.
Acknowledging China's vision of high-quality development and high-level opening-up, he expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation with China in seeking possibilities and solving problems.
"My biggest gift in life is to have a relationship with China," said Perry, who is making efforts to develop young icebreakers to act as bridges to strengthen connections and cooperation with China.
Tan Guoling contributed to this story.
Merck seeks closer science, technology collaboration with Chinese companies
German sci-tech giant Merck has pledged closer collaboration with Chinese companies as the nation advances its innovative capabilities, a senior executive from the company said on Thursday.
Marc Horn, president of Merck China, said that China stands out as a global leader in innovation, driven by key strengths in several areas such as adaptability and scalability.
"Its remarkable adaptability allows for quick responses to market changes, while a culture of collaboration fosters creativity and progress. The focus on user-centricity ensures that inventions meet consumer needs, supported by a bold spirit of risk-taking and experimentation that encourages exploration of new ideas," Horn said.
"Additionally, scalability enables successful innovations to be rapidly expanded. Together, these attributes create a dynamic ecosystem that positions China at the forefront of global innovation … At Merck, we find ourselves in the sweet spot to both contribute to China's growing innovation ecosystem and to benefit from it, growing together with China," he said.
Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that China has 26 of the world's 100 best science and technology clusters, ranking No 1 globally, followed by the United States and Germany.
"We do want to be part of this vibrant Chinese innovation system. We operate research and development labs and manufacturing sites all over China across our major business sectors of healthcare, life science and electronics. And this year, we expanded our M Lab in the Shanghai Technical Application and Testing Center to further support Chinese and international biopharmaceutical and biologics companies in developing novel drug therapies," Horn said.
At the China International Import Expo in November, the company's life science division signed a memorandum of understanding with Chengdu Eastern New Area in Sichuan province to enhance the capabilities of its Future Medical City.
Merck's increasing investment in China exemplifies an ongoing trend of foreign capital maintaining confidence in the country. Foreign direct investment on the Chinese mainland in actual use amounted to 693.21 billion yuan ($95.3 billion) from January to October, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
During the same period, 46,893 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, representing a year-on-year growth of 11.8 percent, the ministry said.
Social equality required to attain common prosperity
China should create more opportunities for the poor, reduce labor market discrimination and equalize basic public services to achieve common prosperity, said Song Yang, a professor at the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, during the latest Vision China event held in Beijing on Thursday.
The country aims to make substantial progress in achieving common prosperity by 2035 and basically fulfill this goal by 2050, according to the nation's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).
China is on the right track to achieving common prosperity, which refers to all people being able to make a good living. The effort includes two components — growth and distribution, Song said during the event.
"For the growth component, it means people will have a better quality of life, earn higher incomes and see progress in human development in aspects such as education and health. For the distributional component, the target is that we would like to reduce inequality in all dimensions," Song said.
From 1978 to 2022, the annual per capita income increased substantially for both urban and rural families in China. The per capita figure for urban residents jumped from 343 yuan to 49,283 yuan ($47 to $6,777), while the per capita figure for rural residents increased from 134 yuan to 20,133 yuan during this period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
China's average life expectancy rose to 78.6 years last year, compared with just 57 years in 1957. The 2023 figure approached the levels of developed countries such as France, Germany, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the National Health Commission.
It's important to mention that urban-rural inequality is still large in China, even though the income gap between urban and rural families has been gradually narrowing. Other aspects include inequalities in infrastructure, education quality and human development, Song said.
He added that while China continues to promote economic growth by encouraging innovation and fair market competition, protecting private property and relying on new quality productive forces, it should continue to reduce inequality in all aspects.
"We don't want to sacrifice growth for reducing inequality, and we want to achieve both goals. That's the meaning of common prosperity," Song said.
Airbus targets Asia as fast-growing market
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus sees Asia, especially China, as the growth engine for the global aviation industry as the country's civil aviation sector has proved to be one of the most resilient markets in the world, said George Xu, Airbus executive vice-president and Airbus China CEO.
"As the world's second-largest economy, China had a steady growth this year and has entered the path of high-quality growth. Airbus is committed to the China market, and will continue to be a long-term partner with China," Xu said during a Vision China event in Beijing on Thursday.
While the government has made particular efforts to expand domestic demand, increase residents' incomes and improve infrastructure construction, high-quality development will offer more opportunities for the aviation industry, and growing urbanization will also trigger demand for air travel, he said.
This year, domestic air passenger traffic in China is expected to hit a record high, according to projections from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
According to a forecast from Airbus, China's fleet size is expected to triple over the next 20 years and will surpass the United States in the early 2030s.
Speaking of new deliveries all over the world in the next two decades, half of all new aircraft will be delivered to the Asia-Pacific region, and in the Asia-Pacific, nearly half the market is in China.
Xu noted that this immense market size presents a unique opportunity for Airbus' business growth, and for the high-quality development of the entire industrial chain.
Back in 2005, Airbus decided to build its first single-aisle aircraft final assembly line outside of Europe in Tianjin.
In the past 19 years, Airbus Tianjin has delivered around one-third of the Airbus fleet in China.
"Behind the incredible achievements, it's a story of how Airbus contributed to China's high-quality development. We have over 200 suppliers in China. Through the local for local strategy, Airbus partnered with Chinese suppliers for aircraft parts and sections manufacturing," Xu said.
"We are inspired by China's commitment to high-quality development and higher level of opening-up. Airbus is here with our partners, in China, for China."
