Sharing Chinese Confidence

On October 7 Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC） CEO Summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. Widely interpreted as a manifestation of key Chinese policies prior to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， his speech imparted to the world China’s confidence and outlined the path of the country’s future development and reforms.

Xi noted that， confronted with new challenges brought about by the current global economic situation， developed and developing countries alike are seeking new growth momentum， which he believes lies in reform， adjustment and innovation. It is on these areas that China is focused.

Chinese economic growth has slowed over recent months， sparking widely divergent opinions of its prospects in the international community. The 7.6 percent growth rate is the result of intentional regulation of the economy by the Chinese government， and is deemed feasible and reasonable. In fact， an annual growth of only seven percent would be enough for the country to reach its goal of doubling its 2010 GDP and per capita income by 2020. Now， China is placing greater emphasis on the quality and efficiency of its economy rather than sheer growth.

China’s economic development is shifting from overreliance on investment and export to being more driven by domestic demand， and in particular， consumption. And the results can already be seen： Domestic demand now contributes 7.5 percentage points to China’s economic growth， of which 3.4 percentage points come from consumption.

China will continue to promote “new-type urbanization” placing a premium on integrated public facilities and equalized public services in rural and urban areas to pave the way for tens of millions of farmers to become urban dwellers and lead a better life. Chinese educators will nurture a new generation of workers with a strong academic background， global vision， advanced techniques and professional skills. China is making an effort to implement innovation-driven development strategies， promoting the combination of science and the economy to boost technological innovation and the development of emerging industries. China will constantly expand domestic demand and the consumption market which， in turn， will release huge demand and generate a driving force for its economy. All these elements will amalgamate into a strong， intrinsic motivation for the evolution of the Chinese economy.

Xi Jinping stated that if China is to continue to make progress， it should comprehensively deepen its reform and opening-up. He outlined the hopes of the Chinese reforms： China will improve its basic economic system， strengthen its market system， boost reforms in fields like macro control， taxation， finance and investment， deepen the marketiza- tion of interest and exchange rates， build up flexibility of the RMB exchange rate， and gradually realize RMB capital account convertibility. China will accelerate its reform of the administrative system to further transform the function of the government， streamline administration， introduce decentralization， and balance the relationship between the government and the market to allow the market to play an essential role in resource allocation over a wider range and broader scale. The Chinese government aims to improve its scientific and technological systems and innovation capacity， focusing on building a market-oriented innovation system with enterprises as main players and science and research institutions as supportive powers. Efforts will also be made to guarantee and improve people’s livelihood， promote social fairness and justice， realize high-quality employment， deepen reform of the income distribution system， and improve the social security and basic public service systems. China will strengthen ecological and environmental protection and promote resource conservation to create a better living and working environment， and contribute to the world effort to control climate change.

Xi stressed that China will take a more aggressive opening-up strategy and improve its open economic system featuring mutual benefit， win-win economics， diversity， balance， security and high efficiency. It will promote the complementary advantages of coastal and inland areas and cultivate model regions on opening-up and international cooperation， thus injecting impetus into regional development. China should attach equal importance to both export and import. This should be done by improving the development of balanced international trade and introducing investment as well as investing abroad. This will improve China’s level of international investment and cooperation， meanwhile deepening its reform in fields related to investment and trade， and improving laws and regulations to create a fair legal environment for foreign companies.

What happens with China’s reform and development not only affects China， but also has impact on opportunities for other countries. Along with expanding domestic demand， especially in consumption and investment， foreign investors will see more openings for cooperation. It is reasonable to expect that after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee， China will continue to uphold the spirit of peace， cooperation， mutual benefit and win-win economics， and strengthen its cooperation with international society， sharing its reform development dividends globally， and allowing China’s progress to benefit the whole world.