Fortune forum to highlight 'China's New Future'
- By Hu Tao, Hai Mingwei
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E-mail Xinhua, April 9, 2012
The 2013 Fortune Global Forum, a prestigious world business summit, will be held in the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu in June 2013, organizers announced Monday.
The forum, running from June 6 to 8, will bring the CEOs of the world's biggest multinational companies as well as top government officials, economists, entrepreneurs, investors and scholars to China for an event themed "China's New Future."
Andy Serwer, managing editor of U.S.-based Fortune Magazine, said China has an emerging role to play in the world market and noted the dramatic growth of the country's western region.
Delegates will share deep insights into new trends in today's complex global economy and glimpse its future, he added.
It will be the fourth time China gets to host the forum, initiated in 1995 by Fortune Magazine. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing have held the annual gathering previously, in 1999, 2001 and 2005 respectively.
Chengdu is the ideal place to hold the Fortune Global Forum. The city is in the heart of China's booming west and is becoming a leading center for higher education, a diverse range of technologies and industries, logistics and services to attract global companies, said Serwer.
Eyeing its preferential policies and vast market, more than 200 Fortune Global 500 companies have already set up operations in Chengdu, with their facilities in the city including research centers, plants and regional headquarters.
"This shows a larger trend of Fortune Global 500's moving forward to western China and a migration of industry to a developing country," according to Serwer.
The region has attracted international enterprises by stepping quickly into subordinate markets. And Chengdu is the gate to China's vast inland, said Ge Honglin, mayor of Chengdu.
There are 24 international air routes shuttling from around the world to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, which is a national-level aviation hub on a par with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, according to Ge.
And nine countries have set up consular institutions in Chengdu, he added.
Multinational companies are setting their eyes on China, which is a huge market with incomparable advantages over other emerging markets, said Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with Asian Development Bank.
With its growing economy and stable social environment, China is now showing more concern for its continuous and harmonious development, which are also essential factors for multinational companies in making investment decisions, Zhuang believes.
Chengdu and some other regions in western China have performed very well in recent years, after failing to keep step with the fast-developing east of China in the past.
China is now experiencing a regional industry upgrading. Compared to the fast-moving east of China, the west has competitive advantages in essential production factors, including cost, strong government support and abundant human resources, said Zhuang.
The global industries' relocation is establishing a clear road map for other major players moving to newly emerging countries. As the most prestigious member of this group, China is witnessing the trend moving to its vast western regions, according to the Asian Development Bank economist.
China initiated a new round of western development policy support in 2011 to boost its less developed regions -- which include six provinces, five autonomous regions and Chongqing municipality, and account for more than 70 percent of the Chinese mainland's land space.
The central government prioritized its "Go West" strategy in the country's new five-year plan, offering preferential policies supporting continuous development in the western regions.
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