Lloyd’s of London chief praises Xi’s ‘brave’ message

President Xi Jinping's call to boost economic openness was described as courageous during a World Economic Forum debate on Wednesday to discuss China's role in global prosperity.

"The message that we can't turn back from globalization is absolutely correct," Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd's of London insurance market, told a panel of Chinese and Western business experts.

"It's a fantastic message that he has come out with. It's brave and it takes courage," she said. "There's so much uncertainty around, you need someone to take a leadership role on the world stage."

Others on the panel also welcomed China's growing leadership role and Xi's remarks on protecting the benefits of globalization from protectionist tendencies.

Fang Xinghai, vice-chairman of China's Securities Regulatory Commission, said he had spoken to two American colleagues after Xi's Davos speech on Tuesday who welcomed his comments and had agreed that a US retreat into isolation was impossible.

Fang noted that China was making an increasing contribution to Western industrial output even as it took on a larger global leadership role.

Last year, Ford Motor Company had increased its sales in China by 14 percent as against one percent in the US, he said. "Definitely, the China market was a major contributor to their performance last year."

He said China was just beginning to embark on a more global role, one that many were looking to it to play amid uncertainty in the US. "It's a responsibility we can't ignore," he said.

Thomas Farley, President of the New York Stock Exchange, said that during his lifetime poverty around the world had fallen by 80 percent, a trend that had improved the lives hundreds of millions in China alone.

"This is because of increasing free enterprise and respect for entrepreneurs," Farley said. "It's allowing people to buy groceries for their children."

Xiao Yaqing, chairman of China's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said the world was seeing increasing disparity between rich and poor. On a per capita basis, he noted, China was still well behind the developed world.

China had cut back its coal production, yet some areas were still without adequate heating. That was a challenge that would now have to be met through non-fossil fuels.

"China is the number 2 economy but we are way behind the number 1 per capita and there's plenty of room for growth," he said.

Beale noted that there was growth in her area of specialization – insurance. She said Lloyd's had been doing business with China for 200 years but was now taking advantage of a vibrant Chinese domestic market for insurance products.

She said that as markets evolved, she would urge China to focus on transparency. "If China wants to be a global leader, it must match transparency in other parts of the world," she said.

To contact the reporter: harvey.morris@gmail.com