— President Hu Jintao Delivers a Keynote Speech at APEC CEO Summit

(Vladivostok, Russia, September 8, 2012)

On Sept. 8, 2012, Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the APEC CEO Summit in Vladivostok, Russia and delivered a keynote speech. The following is an excerpt of the speech.

It is a great pleasure to join you at the beautiful Vladivostok and to exchange views about the theme of "Strengthening Infrastructure Construction to Achieving Sustainable Development."

The current world economy is recovering slowly, and there remain some destabilizing factors and uncertainties. The underlying impact of the international financial crisis is far from over, and some countries are confronted with complex and difficult sovereign debt problems. Protectionism is on the rise as the world economy is faced with increasing downward risks. The Asia-Pacific region has, on the whole, maintained sound momentum of growth and acquired a more important position while playing a more prominent role in the world economy. However, we should not overlook the impact of grave challenges in the global economy on our region, which we need to address with serious efforts.

The APEC CEO Summit, with an "infrastructure for sustainable growth" theme, will focus the discussions on critical and fundamental issues concerning economic recovery and long-term development, as well as analyze opportunities and challenges facing economic growth of the world and the Asia-Pacific region. It will be of great significance because it will give APEC members an accurate understanding of the situation, identify cooperation directions and priorities, and promote the sustained economic recovery and development of the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, I am willing to share some of my observations on the concerns of the business community as well as infrastructure development in the context of ensuring growth and driving recovery.

First, we should strengthen infrastructure development and consolidate the foundation of economic development. APEC needs to create fair, transparent and efficient governmental, legal and market environments so as to enable infrastructure to play a positive role in driving domestic demand, increasing employment and serving people's livelihood. We should upgrade infrastructure in agriculture, energy, water, information and other fields and promote the construction of transport networks, including railway, highway, waterway, civil aviation and pipelines. We should leverage the important roles of governments, increase the support of financial funds, actively explore and improve investment and financing mechanisms, and establish a multi-participatory mechanism.

Second, we should improve supply-chain connectivity and facilitation and give full play to the performance of the infrastructure. This is required for deepening regional economic integrations and boosting local competitiveness. APEC needs to continue to push forward the APEC Supply-Chain Connectivity (SC) Action Plan, break through bottleneck constraints in the supply chain and remove obstacles to the flow of goods and services. We should strengthen the construction of logistics networks and simplify customs procedures, and facilitate the movement of businessmen. APEC needs to provide assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in information access, cross-border cooperation, capacity building and other fields.

Third, we should deepen reform of the investment system and share opportunities arising from infrastructure construction and development. Business circles are a main force of Asia-Pacific economic development and an important impetus of international business and trade development. Business circles should actively participate in promoting Asia-Pacific economic growth and world economic recovery. Government agencies should support private sector entry into the infrastructure field, eliminate policy barriers and institutional constraints, expand and broaden the channels and means for social capital, introduce market-based competition mechanisms, and actively explore new channels and means for financing cooperation.

Fourth, we should strengthen exchanges and cooperation and work together to promote the interconnectivity of the Asia-Pacific region. Accelerating infrastructure construction and achieving interconnectivity has become a common recognition of the Asia-Pacific member states. APEC should continue to play to its advantage in supply chain connectivity and trade facilitation, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Program, Great Tumen Initiative (GTI), ASEAN, ASEAN plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other institutional mechanisms. APEC should enhance coordination in the areas of laws and regulations and people-to-people cooperation.

In 2011, despite grim domestic and international challenges, China's GDP grew at a rate of 9.3 percent. Economic restructuring actively developed and grain production increased for eight years running. China's economy is generally stable since the beginning of this year, with 7.8 percent GDP growth in the first half of this year. But at the same time, the unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable contradictions and problems are still outstanding in China's economic development.

China will continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy while maintaining the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policies. China will continue to properly handle the relations among maintaining stable and rapid economic development, restructuring the economy and managing inflation expectations, strive to stimulate domestic demands and maintain a stable and rapid economic development and general price stability. Efforts will be made in the following aspects.

First, striving to promote endogenous growth. China will continue to take strategic economic restructuring as the main direction for the transformation of economic development and build a long-term mechanism to expand domestic demands. China will strengthen the status of agriculture and raise the core competitiveness of the manufacturing industry, while nurturing newly emerging industry with development strategy. China will accelerate the development of its service industry and promote its economic growth towards the first, second and tertiary industries. China will coordinate the development between urban and rural areas and actively and steadily promote urbanization, as well as speed up the social construction of the new countryside. China will increase the input to infrastructure facilities and public service, improve basic public service systems and deepen reform of the income distribution system.

Second, striving to promote inclusive growth. China will link economic development with the improvement of people's livelihood, set up a fair social security system and promote an equal development opportunity. China will first tap human resources, strive to expand employment, actively solve the problems concerning people's livelihood, such as education, old-age pension, medical treatment and housing, so as to achieve the development for the people, by the people and the shared success by people.

Third, striving to promote innovation-driven development. China will continue executing the strategies of rejuvenating the country through science & technology and talents. China will strengthen reforms in its scientific and technological system and try to solve the problems that restrain scientific and technological innovation. China will optimize the innovation environment and expand cooperation in scientific and technological exploration to speed the building of an innovative country.

Fourth, striving to promote mutually beneficial and win-win development. China will continue to uphold the basic national policy of opening up, implement a more active opening up strategy, perfect its regional opening up pattern, expand new areas and space, and improve the institutional mechanism that can meet the needs of a developing economy.

President Hu said that China is willing to work with all parties to drive the sustainable economic development and the continuous improvement of people's well-being in the Asia-Pacific region.