Full text of Zhang's address at Fortune forum
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E-mail Xinhua, June 7, 2013
China's Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli delivered an address at the Gala Dinner for the Opening of 2013 Fortune Global Forum on Thursday. The following is the full text of his address:
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening. In this early summer season that beams with vigor and vitality, our friends, both old and new, from the world over are gathered here in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to attend the 2013 Fortune Global Forum. Together, we shall explore global economic trends and look into the future of the Chinese economy. President Xi Jinping had originally intended to attend the forum but was unable to come due to his tight schedule. As a result, he has entrusted me to come, and sent a congratulatory message to the forum. Yesterday afternoon, Premier Li Keqiang had a fruitful discussion in Beijing with some of the business leaders attending the forum. Today, on behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to extend my sincere welcome to all our friends. I also wish to extend my sincere congratulations to the forum organizer Time Warner Inc..
Sichuan is a place that has long been reputed as the "Land of Abundance" in China. Over the years, the hardworking and talented people of Sichuan have built a beautiful homeland. Yet they have also gone through many hardships. Just over a month ago, on 20 April, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Lushan County, causing heavy loss of life and property. Thanks to the support and assistance from the whole nation, the people of Sichuan have seized every moment to engage in rescue and relief operation, and scored a decisive victory in resettling the earthquake victims and carrying out post-earthquake reconstruction in an orderly manner. Five years ago, on 12 May 2008, an even more devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on Richter scale struck Wenchuan County. In the wake of the earthquake, through concerted efforts of the entire country, we managed to complete the post-quake reconstruction programs within three years. In our disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in both Wenchuan and Lushan, the international community, including many multinational corporations represented here in Chengdu, have lent us a helping hand. The Chinese government and people will never forget the kind and timely assistance of the international community. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I wish to take this opportunity to express heartfelt gratitude to our friends at home and abroad for their support and assistance in our relief and reconstruction efforts in Wenchuan and Lushan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is the fourth time that China has played host to the Fortune Global Forum, with the previous three forums taking place in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing. The current forum, themed China's New Future, highlights the close attention that people have paid to the prospect of China's development. Against the backdrop of deepening economic globalization, countries around the world have become more and more interdependent economically, and the future of China's economic development is, no doubt, closely linked with that of the world. The implication of this bears not only on the well-being of the 1.3 billion Chinese people, but also on the common interests of people the world over.
The world today is at a critical juncture of significant development, transformation and readjustment. Countries around the world are adopting measures to cope with the complicated and volatile global economic situation and are pondering on their future development paths. Responding to the changing national and global conditions, China, too, has made a series of major strategic adjustments and set up plans for its future development. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in November 2012, drew the blueprint for China's development in the years ahead. Our goals are: to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, with China's GDP and per-capita income for both urban and rural residents doubling those of 2010, and to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous,strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the middle of the 21st century, thus fulfilling the Chinese dream of the great renewal of the Chinese nation.
Looking ahead, China's development is faced with unprecedented opportunities and challenges in the new century. The global environment, which features general stability, has provided us with favorable conditions for development. China has made tremendous accomplishments since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy. This has laid a solid foundation for China's future development and also contributed to the development of the global economy. However, we are soberly aware that the profound repercussions of the global financial crisis cannot be eliminated in the short term, that destabilizing factors and uncertainties in the world economy are still on the rise, and that China also has to stand up to the test of striding over "the middle-income trap" and alleviating the stresses accumulated in the course of its long period of extensive growth. I know that many friends, both Chinese and foreign, including those present here tonight, are interested in how China will turn its ambitious blueprint into reality. Let me take this opportunity to offer my perspectives on that.
First, we must always adhere to the strategic thinking that development is of overriding importance, and endeavor to pursue sustained and healthy economic development. China is still the largest developing country in the world with its per-capita GDP ranking the 84th globally. China will get nowhere unless it develops itself, as development holds the key to solving all its problems. Yet China's development must be scientific, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable. Statistics show that the nation's first-quarter GDP rose by 7.7 percent year-on-year. In the first four months of this year, employment in cities and towns increased by 4.7 million, 180,000 more than the same period last year, while consumer prices rose by 2.4 percent, down by 1.3 percentage points, and imports and exports grew by 14 percent, 8 percentage points higher than the the same period last year. All these figures indicate that the Chinese economy has been growing in a generally steady fashion, something that has not come by easily. We must take scientific development as our theme, focus on accelerating the transformation of the development model, make steady advancement in our work, and continue to adopt a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. We must be good at bottom-line thinking, and always keep the larger picture in mind. We must never lay undue emphasis on the speed of growth. Instead, we must ensure steady development and work on that basis to solve problems, guard against inflation and keep risks under control. We need to concentrate on improving the quality and efficiency of development, and ensure the development moves ahead steadily and produces good results. We will work to simultaneously advance industrialization, IT-application, urbanization, and agricultural modernization. We will further expand consumer demand, foster new highlights of consumption, and improve the long-term mechanisms that support sustained consumption growth. We will try to bring into play the important role of rational investment in driving economic growth, and lend full support to the growth of high-tech, startup and export-oriented companies and companies of medium to small and micro sizes, in order to ensure that the Chinese economy is headed in the right direction in its growth.
Second, we will accelerate change to the development model and vigorously improve and optimize the economic structure. Both at the current stage and in the future, an extensive development model is neither feasible nor sustainable, and we must therefore pursue long-term development through economic transformation. We will endeavor to accomplish this important mission of adjusting the structure, shifting the development model and facilitating economic transition. We will speed up China's agricultural modernization, and guarantee national food security and effective supply of major farm produce. We will implement innovation- based development strategies and promote the growth of high-tech companies and emerging industries of strategic importance. We will work hard to curb excess capacity, strengthen incremental management, firmly forbid new projects in industries with excess capacity, terminate projects under construction that are in violation of government regulations, contain the blind expansion of highly-polluting enterprises with high energy consumption, and strive to formulate well-targeted plans to readjust and optimize inventory stocks. We will support the speedy development of the service sector, especially modern service businesses, increase the proportion of the service industry in the national economy, and set up a new system for growth of modern industries.
Third, we will further enforce the comprehensive strategy for regional development, and accelerate the development and opening up of the central and western regions. One of the major problems China faces today is regional income disparity and imbalanced development. Blessed with a vast territory, abundant resources and huge potential for development, China's central and western regions provide important strategic space for development, convenient leeway as well as new points of economic growth. During the past decade or so, China has made remarkable achievements in developing these regions through its strategy for the development of the western region. We will make even greater efforts to press ahead the development and opening up of the central and western regions, particularly the western region, draw up layout plans for regional development, and work out more effective policies and measures to speed up the construction of major transportation networks between the regions. We will develop local industries with competitive edge, and push forward the development of green, recyclable and low-carbon industries, so that the resources advantages the central and western regions now enjoy will add to their economic strength. We will also support the transfer of some industries in the more developed eastern regions to the western regions, make overall plans on coordinated national and regional development, advance urbanization actively yet steadily, and well exploit the potentials of the process to boost domestic demand, promote economic growth and improve people's livelihood. I believe that a new wave of western region development and opening up will add greater vitality to the Chinese economy, and help resolve the problem of imbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development in due course.
Fourth, we will strengthen the protection of resources, the environment and ecological systems as part of our effort to build a beautiful homeland with a blue sky, green land and clean water. I've always believed that the ecological environment is crucial to human civilization and to China's development. Economic and social development is commendable only when it is achieved together with a sound ecological environment. This is also a responsibility we shoulder for our future generations. We have already outlined the goal of building China into a beautiful country. We will attach greater importance to addressing problems resulting from environmental pollution, and strike a proper balance between optimizing economic structure, boosting development that is driven by science and technological innovation, and conserving resources and protecting the environment. We are determined to make long-term and unremitting efforts to solve the problem. We will start with reducing PM2.5 in most polluted regions. We will implement forceful action plans with a multi-pronged approach to ensure nationwide progress through coordinated regional efforts. We will take gradual steps to improve the quality of soil and drinking water, so as to ensure that our people can live and work happily and in the meantime make new contribution to the global efforts of mitigating climate change.
Fifth, we will give high priority to ensuring the people's well-being and improving their material and cultural lives. Ensuring and improving people's well-being is the fundamental purpose of China's development. We will do our very best to improve people's livelihood through development, make every effort to increase household income, deepen reform of income distribution system, readjust the relationship of income distribution and gradually achieve common prosperity. We will implement the strategy of giving top priority to employment, encourage the practice of creating employment through multiple channels and forms, and ensure employment stability. We will strive to create equal access to basic public services in areas such as education, healthcare, social security and housing. We will administer justice impartially and increase the transparency of judicial operation; promote the equity of rights, opportunities and rules; narrow the gap between rich and poor, urban and rural, and reduce regional disparities, so as to turn the people's aspirations for a better life into reality and achieve a virtuous circle of economic growth and the improvement of people's well-being.
Sixth, we will deepen reform and opening-up across the board and never cease to reform or open up. Practices show that reform and opening-up are the essential driving force behind China's development today. Had it not been for the reform and opening-up policy, the Chinese nation would never have been where it is today. Only by sticking to reform and opening-up can China have a bright future. We will integrate top-level design for reform with individual and community-level initiatives, underscore key areas and links as well as major issues, encourage breakthroughs in necessary areas while ensuring an overall gradual approach, forcefully pursue reform in a top-down manner, and make sure that every minor victory adds to our final triumph. We will form a unified market system, create a set of fair, equal and open market rules and an environment for all types of companies of different ownership structures to compete fairly. Reform of the administrative systems, fiscal and taxation, finance, investment, state-owned enterprises and pricing mechanisms will be deepened so that the systems of each area can be more mature and well-established. You may have noticed that a new round of reform measures has been unleashed in China. In less than three months since taking office, the new government of China has canceled or delegated to lower levels 133 items concerning business operation that needed central administrative approval. We will continue to do so and give more power to the market, society and enterprises. We will leverage to a greater extent and in a wider scope the basic role of the market in allocating resources.
China is committed to further opening up across the board. The Chinese nation, more open-minded and with a broader vision, will vigorously absorb and learn from other civilizations. China will embrace a more active strategy to open up its market and try to build an open economic structure that is mutually beneficial, diversified yet balanced, safe and highly efficient. To achieve balanced foreign trade growth, we will attach equal importance to imports and exports and make sure that we expand imports while optimizing exports. We are firmly opposed to protectionism of all forms, and stand for liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To ensure growth, China needs the world, and the prosperity and stability of the world requires more of China's participation. A China pursuing peaceful and robust development will bring more opportunities for cooperation and an even bigger market for all countries. By the end of 2012, China had approved more than 740,000 foreign-invested companies, whose combined direct investment in China had surpassed 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. More than 400 of the Fortune 500 companies have invested in China. The sound and ever-expanding Chinese economy will unleash great consumption and investment potential, and provide more opportunities for cooperation for foreign investors. It is expected that in the next five years China will import a total of 10 trillion U.S. dollars worth of goods, and invest 500 billion U.S. dollars in foreign countries. Chinese tourists are expected to make 400 million trips overseas. We will continue to welcome and encourage foreign entrepreneurs and companies to start their business operations in China. We will protect the legitimate rights of investors, and provide opportunities for them to share the benefits brought about by China's development as well as its reform and opening-up.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Leaders of multinational corporations and other distinguished guests participating in this forum are all important players and facilitators of global economic activities. You have conducted mutually beneficial cooperation and wide exchanges with China and contributed significantly to China's economic growth. Less than 40 miles from today's venue lies the world's oldest water conservation project, known as Dujiangyan. Built more than 2,300 years ago, the ancient project has brought blessings to the people of Sichuan for thousands of years, irrigating an immense area of arable land to this day. The story of Dujiangyan tells us that right investment will generate both immediate and long-term benefits. So let us join hands and work together to enhance cooperation for our mutual benefit and the benefit of our future generations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The hope for China's new future and renewed expectation of the people all inspire us to persevere and be resolute in our work. As an old Chinese poem reads, "A time will come for me to brave the wind and waves, and I will seize that opportunity to cross the vast ocean." We will steadfastly follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, work under the leadership of the CPC central Committee led by General Secretary Xi Jinping, unite as one and make pioneering and innovative efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realize the Chinese dream of achieving the great renewal of the Chinese nation.
In conclusion, I wish the 2013 Fortune Global Forum great success!
Thank you very much!
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