China's fast economic growth is not a threat to the world, said
Bert Hofman, the World Bank's (WB) chief economist for China.
Many people worry about the impact on the environment of China's
fast development, as China is now the world's leading energy
consumer and the second largest producer of greenhouse gas after
the United States, Bert Hofman said.
China is likely to become the largest producer of greenhouse gas
by 2010, according to the World Energy Outlook issued by
International Energy Agency (IEA) recently.
However, Hofman said, these concerns needed to be qualified.
First of all, the current situation was unlikely to continue and,
secondly, China's pollution was not caused only by the country
itself. Hofman did not elaborate on these remarks.
China's 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010) includes a 20 percent
reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP target for the
five-year period, and a more general objective of transforming the
country into a resource-saving and environment-friendly
society.
China's GDP is expected to top 20 trillion yuan (US$2.5
trillion) in 2007, a rise of 10.5 percent year-on-year, according
to projections by the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC).
China is influencing other countries through trade, investment
and assistance, but also through knowledge and ideas, Hofman said,
adding that people often ignore China's progress in education and
research.
Heavy investment in higher education means that 20 percent of
Chinese young people of university age now attend schools of higher
learning, compared with only 6 percent a decade ago, Hofman
said.
According to recently published figures, China approved more
than 30,000 patents in 2004, compared with less than 5,000 prior to
1994. More than half of the patentees are Chinese citizens and an
increasing number of Chinese have obtained patent rights in other
countries, Hofman said.
Hofman said China was likely to become an important source of
innovation and new products and it could expand its influence in
this field by improving the protection of intellectual property
rights and optimizing innovation systems.
China, the world's third largest trader after the United States
and Germany, registered US$1.76 trillion in foreign trade last
year, up 24 percent year-on-year, and an aggregate trade surplus of
US$177 billion, up 74 percent.
China's increasing trade benefits other countries, Hofman said,
adding that Chinese manufacturing is often highly efficient.
China has become the most important export destination for Asian
countries.
China has been the largest recipient of foreign investment among
all developing nations for 15 years, with foreign direct investment
(FDI) used in China topping US$63 billion last year, up 4 percent
on the previous year - but only if the financial sector is excluded
from the calculation, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Although the inflow of foreign funds into Asia was interrupted
briefly after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, foreign investment
has picked up again, with FDI reaching US$15 billion in Southeast
Asia in 2005, Hofman said.
Foreign investment in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand
continued to surge in the first half of 2006, Hofman said without
giving specific figures.
A recipient of massive foreign investment, China saw its own
overseas investments, excluding the financial sector, surge by 32
percent last year to reach US$16.1 billion, according to the
Ministry of Commerce.
As a result, China's overseas investment ranking jumped from
17th in 2005 to 13th last year, according to the Commerce
Ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2007)