China dominates World Economic Forum
(xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-30 08:43

The World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos drew to a close on Sunday after four days of vibrant debate with China in the spotlight.

Zeng Peiyan, Vice President of the People's Republic of China speaks during the "message 2" session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2006.[Reuters]

When world business and political leaders gathered at the tiny Swiss Alpine resort to brainstorm on global challenges, they found China had become part of their discussions in virtually every global issue, be it employment, energy, environment, or health.

The world's perspectives on the rise of China were far from being convergent. Some saw it as a challenge or even threat, others might see it as an opportunity.

Business executives were generally more upbeat about China's rise as the world's most populous country is turning out to be a huge market for their products.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers global CEO survey published at the forum, almost 80 percent of the 1,410 CEOs view China as the most significant market opportunity.

American participants might tend to see China's rise as a threat. Their reaction was often fear, concern or anger, observed Laura Tyson, dean of London Business School.

For Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the forum, the rise of China is a threat and an opportunity.

"It could be a win-win situation. But we have to work very carefully to make it really a win-win situation. In order to do so, we have to create much better mutual understanding," he told Xinhua at the opening day of the forum.

He noted that since 1979 when the forum invited the first Chinese delegation to Davos, China has transformed itself into an economic powerhouse.

Schwab believed China is entering a new phase of modernization and its creative imperative is to promote scientific and technological developments while protecting the environment and enhancing its social fabric.

Chinese themselves, however, were more realistic by stressing both achievements and challenges.

Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said his country has grown an average of 9.6 percent per year in the past 27 years and a market economy has taken root.

But he admitted that challenges abound, including low GDP per capita and income disparities between the urban rich and the rural poor.

Cheng Siwei, a top lawmaker and economist, defined as China's main development challenges improving the living standards for a large population of 1.3 billion, dealing with resource and environmental constraints, remedying uneven development across regions and between urban and rural areas, and alleviating poverty.

China may set a moderate growth target of 8 percent in the next five years to allow for more investment to promote social progress, he told a panel.

China's growth model, which is mainly based on fixed asset investment and exports, may not be sustainable, observed Stephen Roach, chief economist of Morgan Stanley.

The annual meeting also explored prospects of China's banking sector, its rural poverty, environmental protection and rising energy demands.

The rise of China's neighbor, India, also draw attention of panelists. The two countries combined account for 40 percent of the world's population. Indians, unlike Chinese, launched an aggressive campaign at the forum to boost its profile with an impressive 150-strong delegation.

The annual meeting under the theme of "The Creative Imperative" attracted about 2,340 business and political elite from 89 countries and territories.

Other issues that interested participants included the Middle East situation, especially the electoral victory of Hamas in Palestine, the Iranian nuclear issue, energy and environment.