88th International Forum on China Reform was Held in Haikou, Hainan Province
At present, profound changes unseen in a century are speedily evolving, and it has become more obvious that our world, our times, and history are changing in ways like never before. How we will study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), how China will further build a high-level socialist market economic system, how China will advance high-level opening-up, how China will build a new development pattern, how China will energetically push forward high-quality development, and how all these will impact the world economy, all remain important issues of concern both at home and abroad.
In this context, China Institute for Reform and Development, Bank of China, China Daily and China Public Diplomacy Association jointly organized the 88th International Forum on China Reform with theme of “China and the World in Grasping Opportunities and Coping with Challenges”, in Haikou, Hainan Province, from October 29 to 30, 2022. More than 500 experts and scholars from relevant ministries, universities and research institutions in China, from 17 Chinse provinces, municipalities, and autonomous and special administrative regions, from 13 foreign countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Norway, Singapore and Malaysia, and from 5 international organizations including the World Trade Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat and the China-ASEAN Center, participated in the Forum online and offline.
Wang Bin, Member of the Standing Committee and Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, and vice governor of Hainan Provincial Government, pointed out in his opening address that it is timely and significant to hold this high-level international forum under the guidance of the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In the past two years, the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port has achieved obvious progress since its smooth start. The next few years will be a critical period for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. Hainan will fully implement the central government's strategic plan for constructing the Hainan Free Trade Port, take the construction onto an irreversible development track, provide Hainan sample and Hainan program for a new round of high-level reform and opening up, and ensure more benefits and more opportunities for global investors. Hainan Free Trade Port’s opportunity lies in its positioning as an important intersection of domestic and international circulations, in its first-mover advantage of carrying out high-level opening-up stress tests, and in its exploring a new open economic system in accordance with the basic requirements of creating the highest-level opening-up form.
Qu Yingpu, President and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily, proposed in his opening address that the story of Chinese path to modernization is an important part of the story of China in the new era, and it is also an important carrier for the world to understand China's development path. It is an important mission and responsibility of the times for Chinese media and think tanks including China Daily, to tell the world a good story of Chinese path to modernization with heart and love and explain the world significance of Chinese path to modernization in order enhance the international community's recognition of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As for how to tell a good story about Chinese path to modernization, Qu pointed out that the first is, based on facts in China, to unfold "human miracles" Chinese path to modernization will continue to create; the second is, from the perspective of the world, to explain how Chinese path to modernization will inject "certainty" to the "uncertain" world; and the third is, by looking forward into the future, to highlight how Chinese path to modernization will open up a new path for the development of human civilizations. China Daily will continue to be a good recorder, narrator and communicator of the stories of China and of the world in the new era, making new contributions to promoting closer understanding between the Chinese and foreign peoples, and to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Chen Weidong, President of the Bank of China Research Institute, delivered an opening address on behalf of Liu Liange, Chairman of the Bank of China. He said that with the profound changes in the global economic landscape and cooperation mechanisms, the international financial market has undergone dramatic changes, showing new cyclical and structural characteristics. The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that China will maintain its strategic focus, strive to promote high-quality development, adhere to a high level of opening up, and explore Chinese path to modernization that fits its own national conditions. The organic combination of China's expanding its domestic demand and deepening supply side structural reform will promote its economy to maintain a medium-high growth rate. Promoting common prosperity and rural revitalization, continuing to enlarge the size of middle-income group, further narrowing the urban-rural gap and regional gap, and continuous expansion and upgrade its domestic market, will provide an important foundation for China's participation in international cooperation and competition. At present, we should, in accordance with the requirements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, run our own affairs well, enhance the internal dynamics and reliability of the large-scale domestic circulation, strengthen security-capacity building in key areas such as food, energy, industrial and supply chain, and enhance our ability to cope with external risk shocks on one hand. While on the other hand, we should strive to maintain a diversified and stable international economic landscape and economic and trade relations, and promote the continuous improvement of the global governance system.
Wu Hailong, president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, pointed out in his opening address that the world order is being reshaped, the global landscape is being reorganized, and international relations are being rebuilt. The world is showing an increasingly certain face in some respects and an increasingly uncertain face in other respects.
Open cooperation is the only choice to meet external challenges. The wider our door is opened, the broader our road will be, the wider our cooperation channels will be, the more partners we will win, and the larger our market will be. While maintaining cooperation with the United States and other Western countries, we should put more focus on cooperation with the vast number of emerging economies and developing countries, strive to expand markets in developing countries, deepen cooperation with our neighboring countries, make full use of existing regional cooperation mechanisms, and accelerate the process of regional economic integration.
In a word, the more China opens up, the closer its relationship with the rest of the world will be, the more opportunities China will be able to seize, and the greater the odds of China winning the competition will be.
Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, pointed out in his specially invited opening address that, in recent years, profound changes and pandemic outbreak both unseen in a century have been overlaying and interacting with each other, major-power game has been intensifying, geopolitical conflicts have been on the rise, the momentum of globalization has been in setback, trade protectionism has ben resurgent, the world has been struggling for economic recovery, and the development gap between the north and the south has been widening. The world has once again entered a new period of turbulent change.
China has accurately identified changes, responded to them in a scientific way, and take the initiate to seek favorable changes, contributing its wisdom, solutions and strength to resetting the global development issues and achieving common prosperity. Meanwhile, China has also made new breakthroughs in deepening its reform and opening up and reshaped its relations with the outside world.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China once again stressed that China will continue to be committed, as it has always been, to its foreign policy goal of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future. China's foreign aid and international development cooperation will take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guidance, practice the concept of a human community with a shared future and promote high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" and global development initiative as the mission, and comprehensively improve the overall capacity for coordinating and modernizing governance of foreign aid to contributing to jointly creating a better future for mankind. First, we will vigorously carry forward the glorious tradition of foreign aid and show the image of justice of Chinese people always helping others in need. Second, we will follow the right direction of foreign aid development, strengthen overall planning and coordination, continue to teach people how to fish, and enhance international and South-South cooperation; The third is to always adhere to the concept of people-centered development, give top priority to eradicating hunger and poverty, and strive to enhance the sense of gain of the people at the grassroots level in recipient countries. The fourth is to jointly create a new pattern of international development cooperation. And we should make sure that the Chinese side, aid recipient countries and their partners will have shared vision, shared will and shared channels. We should make sure that central and local governments’ policies are well-aligned, their projects are connected, and their funds are linked up. And we should also make sure that the government will provide platform support, financial support and preferential policy support for enterprises.
Xia Deren, vice chairman of the Economic Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, pointed out in his specially invited speech that one of the major characteristics of profound changes unseen in a century in today’s the world is that China, as a large developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, is marching toward modernization in high-spirits and will build itself into a great modern socialist country by the middle of this century. This is a historic change unprecedented in the history of human civilization and will have a profound and far-reaching impact on the world. Practice has proved that reform and opening-up is a "key move" to resolve difficulties and problmes. In the face of changes unseen in a century and the complex and volatile international and internal situations, only under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, by adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and continuing to deepen reform and opening-up, can we continuously enhance the endogenous driving force for modernization and defuse external pressures. In terms of the domestic point situation, we need to deepen refom in order to build a high-level socialist market economic system, remove institutional obstacles in the process of modernization, and enhance the endogenous driving force and vitality of the economy while strengthening the government's capacity of economic regulation. in terms of the international situation, we need to properly respond to the international complexities and volatilities through high-level opening-up.
Chi Fulin, President of China Institute for Reform and Development, delivered a theme speech entitled "China Committed to Deepening Reform and Opening-up, and the World". He believes that continuing to deepen reform and opening-up, and giving top priority to development! This is an important signal the 20th CPC National Congress has sent out to the world that China is committed to reform and development. In the face of new situations and new challenges, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made major strategic planning: to resolutely follow the Chinese path towards modernization; resolutely build a high-level socialist market economic system; resolutely advance high-level opening-up; and resolutely promote high-quality development. This is a major choice in line with the trend of the times, which will lay a solid foundation, and provide an important guarantee, for building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, thus making new and important contributions to the rebalancing of the global economy.
Chi Fulin believes that deepening reform will ensure the biggest prospect of development. So we should enhance the expectation for high-quality development by building a high-level socialist market economic system. Structural transformation has huge potential for development. And we need to deepen structural reform with structural transformation as the main goal to take the initiative in development. Expanding opening-up is an important condition for development. And we should coordinate development and security with high-level opening-up. In accordance with the requirements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we must adhere to the direction of socialist market economy reform, push forward the process of deepening the market-oriented reform of key factors, steadily expanding institutional opening-up in terms of rules, regulations, management and standards, and maintain a diversified and stable international economic landscape with high-level opening up. This requires not only forward-looking thinking and overall planning, but also pragmatic efforts to ensure effective implementation of major reform measures for tangible results.
After the opening ceremony, a plenary session was held with theme of "China's Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Opening-up and Its Impact on the World". Chaired by Peng Sen, President of China Society of Economic Reform, keynote speeches were delivered by Xie Fuzhan, Vice Director of the Economic Committee of CPPCC National Committee, academician of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Chairman of the Presidium of Academicians of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Zhang Junkuan, Former Vice Minister of Development Research Center of the State Council, Yu Yongding, Academician of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Liu Wei, former President of Renmin University of China, Chang-Hee Lee, Director of International Labour Organization Country Office for China and Mongolia, Ou Boqian, Secretary General of Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, and Zhang Yunling, Academician of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Then Zhang Yansheng, Chief Research fellow of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and David Blair, Vice-President and Senior Economist, Center for China and Globalization, made comments on the above keynote speeches.
The forum will have a number of plenary and parallel sessions on topics including "High-Level Opening and High-Quality Development", "Structural Transformation and Structural Reform", and "High-Level Opening of China and the World". Then two thematic forums will be organized in parallel. One is on "Hainan Free Trade Port in China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation", and the other in on "Regional Economic Cooperation in Northeast Asia and Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China”. It is understood that since 2018, China Institute for Reform and Development has hosted 5 international forums on the theme of "China and the World" in cooperation with China Daily, Bank of China, China Public Diplomacy Association and other institutions. The themes of these forums are respectively "China in Reform and Opening up and the World", "China in High-Level Opening-up China and The World", " China and the World in the Context of Unprecedentedly Profound Changes", "China in Building a New Development Paradigm and the World", and "
China and the World in Grasping Opportunities and Coping with Challenges".
At this international forum, a 2022 annual reform research report entitled Structural Transformation - Crossing the Threshold of High Quality Development, written by China Institute for Reform and Development and published by the China Workers Publishing House, was officially unveiled. According to the Report, China is now at a critical point of structural transformation and upgrading. In the next 10 years or so, there is still considerable room for structural transformation and great potential for economic growth. At the same time, China is facing the challenge of structural contradictions and imbalances. The key is to fully release the potential growth impetus and development vitality of 1.4 billion people through structural transformation. This makes it even more necessary to accelerate the package of structural reforms and the process of high-level opening-up