China's Economy, Greater Opening-up and Growing Prosperity
Zhu Rongji, Premier of the State Council of The People's Republic of China
Nanjing, China - 19 September 2001
It is of special significance to have the Sixth World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention held in China at the dawn of the new century. On behalf of the Chinese Government and people, I would like to extend our warm welcome to the overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from all parts of the world.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and particularly, since the introduction of reform and opening-up, China's economy has flourished day by day and grown rapidly. At this new starting point in history, China is moving steadily towards greater opening-up and economic prosperity.
China's economy has withstood rigorous tests in recent years in the complicated and changeable international economic climate. We have successfully fended off the impact of the Asia financial crisis and achieved a sustained and rapid development. Since the economy has maintained a good momentum of growth. In the first half of this year, our GDP grew by 7.9% over the same period of last year. The first eight months of this year have witnessed an increase of 10.4% in the added value of our industry over the same period of last year, 24.7% in the revenue, 18.9% in the investment in fixed assets, 10.1% in social retail sales of consumption commodities, 1.2% in CPI, 9.6% in import and export which amounted to US$330.532 billion, and 7.3% of export which reached US$170.994 billion. The foreign direct investment materialised in reality reached US$27.44 billion, representing an increase of 20.4% over the same period of last year. By the middle of September, the foreign exchange reserves have amounted to US$193.5 billion. The financial sector is also in good shape. China's economy has continued to develop along the health track of fast growth, high efficiency and low inflation.
All these achievements have not come about easily. They are the result of the forceful policy measures taken by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party with President Jiang Zemin at the core in a timely fashion, following a comprehensive assessment of the overall situation. Basing ourselves on boosting domestic demand, we have adopted the pro-active fiscal policy and product monetary policy. We have tried to ensure the continuity of our policies and at the same tiem adopted drastic policies as far as they are necessary. We have given priority to infrastructure and increased output in science and technology, education and environmental protection. We have also worked hard to raise the income of both urban and rural residents, people of low income groups in particular. In addition, we have quickened the industrial restructuring and the reform and reorganization of state-owned enterprises and have adotped various measures to boost export. The policies and principles we have adopted have proven to be sound and correct and they have played and will continue to play an important role in promoting the health development of the national economy.
With the advent of the new century, the reform, opening-up and socialist modernisation drive in China have entered a new development stage. In response to the accelerating trend towards economic globalisation, the surging technological revolution and the world development trend, we will vigorously implement the strategies of restructuring China's economy, developing its west, rejuvenating the nation through science adn education and seeking a sustainable development. These strategies will help improve the innovative capacity of our economy, its competitiveness and its capabilities to fend off risks, and furthemore to enable our economy to grow to a larger scale and higher level.
- Strategic restructuring of our economy is a pressing and important task. We will press ahead with industrialisation and lose no time in stepping up informatisation of economic and social development, which will in turn push forward industrialisation and modernisation of the national economy. We will set up the agricultural restructuring to replace the traditional agriculture with modern farming. We will forcefully develop the new and high tech industries and improve the modern service industry and transform and upgrade traditional industries with extensive use of advanced technologies. We will actively and prudently build more cities and towns. In a word, all-round readjustments and optimisation of economic structure will help build a sound interaction between the agrucultural, industrial and service sectors, between traditional and high-tech industries, and between the rural and urban economies and promote common prosperity.
To develop China's west more vigorously is a measure of strategic significance to a coordinated development of local economies and to a broader scope for the development of the national economy. In the coming years, our priority will be given to infrastructure and ecological environment. We wll try to make breakthroughs in these areas in 5 to 10 years. At present, a number of key projects have been launched such as transmitting natural gas and electricity from the west to the east of China, building Qinghai-Tibet railway line, preserving forests and restoring cultivated land back to forests. These projects bear on the overall development of the central and western parts of China. They are now progressing smoothly. The central government has decided to give policy incentives particularly to the west, provide greater support to the west in terms of capital input, the grant of projects and fiscal transfer payment, and introduce policies and measures to attract domestic and foreign investments to China's west. The vast west of China is ringing in a new period of great development.
- Close attention must be paid to education, science and technology with strategic importance given to technical innovation and the training of professionals. We will build up a national innovation system, encourage enterprises to play a dominant role in technical progress and innovation, and increase their capacity for independent innovation. We will endeavour to make some major breakthroughs in the high-tech sector by pooling strength from various quarters and turn scientific research results into mass production in a big way. We will improve education and hence the all-round quality of our nationals. We will implement a human resources strategy to attract competent professionals from everywhere and produce a large number of new-type professionals who meet the needs of the times.
We will never waver in seeking a sustainable development. We will continue to implement the basic state policies of family planning and environmental protection, and adopt an integrated approach to the improvement of the land and the ecological environment. We will make an effort to promote a new production and consumption mode that is conducive to resources saving and environmental protection so as to build a beautiful and prosperous homeland.
The basic experience we have learnt from our efforts for a sustained, rapid economic grwoth int he past twenty years is to put in place a socialist market economy through reform and develop an open economy. We will unswervingly deepen reform and open wider to the outside world so that our economy will be pushed forward more forcefully by a lasting and more powerful engine.
- We will continue to promote the in-depth reform of the economic system. To this end, efforts will be made to consolidate and develop an ownership system with the public sector playing a dominant role and all other sectors developing side by side by readjusting and improving the ownership structure. We will actively explore various forms of the public ownership and deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises extensively with a view to establishing a sound modern corporation system. We are now considering what measures to take in order to restructure such monopoly industries as power, railway, civil aviation and telecommmunications. We will put in place a new order of the socialist market economy through improving our market system and rectifying and regulating the market behaviours. Measures will be taken to accelerate the establishment of a social security system, or a safety net so as to create a stable social climate for eht reform and development.
- We will more vigorously promote an all-directional, multi-level and broad-sector opening-up pattern. Once inside the WTO, we will honour our commitments to open our market wider to the outside world, both sector-wise and geographical-wise. We will open our service sector step by step, including banking, insurance, telecommunications, trade and tourism, and explore new forms and channels to use foreign funds. We will closely combine our efforts to attract foreign funds with those to readjust industrial structure, develop China's west and deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises, and particularly import more advanced technologies, modern managerial expertise and specialised professionals. On our part, we will keep improving the environment for investment and business operation and protect rights and interests of investors in accordance with law. At the same time, we will encourage viable Chinese enterprises to invest and do business abroad. All these measures are designed to enhance economic exchanges and cooperation with other countries.
Despite various difficulties at present and challenges in the way ahead, China enjoys many favourable conditions for its economic development. Among others, we have a huge domestic market and rich human resources, social and political stability and a developmetn road that suits China. We have friends all over the world, and in particular, we enjoy the caring and support of the vast numbers of overseas Chinese. We will continue to adhere unswervingly to our own road of development and we have full confidence in and capability of tiding over all the difficulties and obstacles on our way ahead and advancing our national economy forward more soundly.
A more prosperous and open economy in China will not only greatly benefit the ore than one billion Chinese people, but also provide a large market and unlimited business opportunities to entrepreneurs of all countries, including businessmen of Chinese origin, hence making greater contribution to the prosperity and development of the world economy.
Mr Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of China's reform and opening-up, once said that tens fo millions of overseas Chinese are a great force and they offer unique opportunities for the big development of China. Over the years, overseas Chinese have enthusiastically supported and participated in China's economic development in various ways. Most of the foreign-funded enterprises in China are in fact funded by overseas Chinese. They have made indelible contribution to China's remarkable economic achievement. With the eternal love for the country of your origin, you have overcome various difficulties and made many contributions. Your pioneering spirit has already been written into the glorious annals of China's economic development. We have Chinese friends everywhere in the world. Among them, there are specialised professionals in all areas, who know very well both the international advantages in developing their business in China. They will find a lot of good opportunities for big development in China no matter whether they have already made investment here or are still looking for business opportunities. We sincerely hope that all the overseas Chinese entrepreneurs will continue to participate in China's modernisation drive in various ways.
Full of vigour and vitality, China's economy is moving ahead rapidly to a new level. Let us join hands and work hard for the realisaton of modernisation and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new century!
I wish the convention a great success!
Thank you.
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