Business, industry leaders grade Xi speeches

Jean-Sebastien Jacques, CEO of Rio Tinto. [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of the things that impressed me most about President Xi's speech was his emphasis on innovation and technology. By placing so much importance on innovation and technology, he was reinforcing the idea that the drivers that traditionally used to support global economic growth are disappearing and that we have no choice but to seek new ways to encourage investment, jobs and trade. It was clear that he firmly believes innovation will be one of the new drivers of growth for the international economy.