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Full Text of Hu Jintao's Speech at BFA Annual Conference 2004
Following is the full text ofthe keynote speech Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 2004 annual conference Saturday:
China's Development Is an Opportunity for Asia
Speech by President Hu Jintao of China at the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 2004 Annual Conference.
Boao, 24 April 2004/4/23
Honorable Guests, Friends, Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to attend the Boao Forum for Asia 2004 Annual Conference today. Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese government, my warmest welcome to all of you present here.
In the past few years, with the support of the fellow Asian countries and the larger international community, the Boao Forum for Asia has developed steadily, playing an increasingly prominent role in regional cooperation and demonstrating to the rest of the world the fervent desire of the Asian people for a win-win scenario through closer cooperation.
Coming into the 21st century, the international situation has continued to undergo profound and complicated changes. World multipolarization and economic globalization are progressing amid twists and turns. Science and technology are advancing with each passing day. We have before us both development opportunities that we must seize and grave challenges that we must deal with. Despite the widespread conflicts and clashes of interest and increasing numbers of factors of uncertainty and instability, peace and development remain the overriding themes of the times. The world needs peace, countries desire development and people want cooperation. This has become an irresistible trend of history.
We are glad to see that Asia has, on the whole, enjoyed stability, with peace, development and cooperation becoming the mainstream of an advancing Asia. With concerted efforts, Asian countries have freed themselves from the shadow of the financial crisis, overcome the impact of SARS and bird flu, succeeded in domestic economic restructuring, and quickened the tempo of industrial upgrading and transformation, promoted a robust regional cooperation, and increased the capacity to tide over potential risks. Asia retains its position as one of the world's most dynamic regions and a key growth point in global trade. All this gives us much confidence about Asia's future.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Both in history and the present-day world, a country can emerge victorious from tough international competition and enjoy faster development only when it gets along with the tide of the times, seizes the opportunities for development, blazes a trail suited to its national conditions and relies on wisdom and resourcefulness of its own people.
In the past 25 years, while pressing ahead with reform and opening up, China has put initially in place a socialist market economy, an economy that is open to the outside world. China's productive forces and overall national strength have been constantly enhanced. With various social undertakings developing in full swing, the Chinese people as a whole have made the historical leap from subsistence to modest prosperity. In the course of 25 years between 1978 and 2003, China's economy grew by an average annual rate of 9.4 percent, with its GDP, foreign trade and foreign exchange reserves jumping from US$147.3 billion, US$20.6 billion and US$167 million to over US$1.4 trillion, US$851.2 billion and US$403.3 billion respectively. China now is the world's sixth largest economy and the fourth largest trader. The reason why China has produced such tremendous changes is because we have adhered to the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and persevered in reform and opening-up, thus galvanizing the Chinese people's initiative, enthusiasm and creativity.
Though China has achieved impressive results in its development, there are still many acute problems, such as overpopulation, weak economic foundation, underdeveloped productivity, highly uneven development, and a fairly sharp contradiction between the country's ecological environment and natural resources on the one hand and its economic and social development on the other. China's per capita GDP, though reaching the record high of US$1,000 last year, still ranks behind the 100th place in the world. To make China's modernization program a success and deliver a prosperous life for all the Chinese people still requires a long and uphill battle.
We have already set a clear goal for the first 20 years of this century. Namely, in building a well-off society of a higher standard in an al-round way for the benefit of well over one billion Chinese people, we will quadruple the 2000 GDP to US$4 trillion with a per capita GDP of US$3,000, further develop the economy, improve democracy, advance science and education, enrich culture, foster greater social harmony and upgrade the texture of life for the people.
To achieve this goal, we will continue to follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping theory and the important thoughts of the "Three Represents" and conscientiously act, in an all-round way, on the concept of people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development. This scientific concept of development crystallizes the successful experience of China's reform, opening-up and modernization drive in the past 25 years and that of the other countries in their course of development, and reflects a new understanding of the issue of development by the Chinese Government and people. We will take economic development as our top priority, aim ourselves to the all-round development of man, and follow a development path characterized by high productivity, affluent life and sound eco-system by properly balancing urban and rural development, development among regions, economic and social development, development of man and nature, and domestic development and opening to the outside world.
To achieve this goal, we will continue to push vigorously our reform and opening-up program, concentrating on building and perfecting our socialist market economy and making it more dynamic and more open to the outside world. Taking the initiative in our own hands with independence and self-reliance in development is an important experience of ours. We persevere in reform, because we need to remove the institutional barriers that impede the development of productive forces and unleash the dynamism that exist in our society for development and creativity. In so doing, we mainly rely on institutional and technological innovation, on expanding domestic demand and on increasing the professional aptitude of our citizens. In the meantime, we firmly stick to our opening-up policy, taking an active part in international economic and technology cooperation, and making contribution to China's own development and the common development in the world.
On our road to progress, we are still encountering the multitude of contradictions and problems, and the various risks and challenges. However, the Chinese people have the confidence and the capability to overcome all kinds of hardships and difficulties and make China's modernization and great rejuvenation a reality.
Ladies and gentlemen,
China is an Asian country. China's development is closely related to Asia's prosperity. China has, and will continue to make a positive impact on Asia in the area of development.-- A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia. As the world's biggest potential market, China has presided over in the past 25 years a steadily expanding and maturing market with import growing at an average annual rate of over 15 percent, which has made China the third largest importer globally and the largest importer in Asia. In 2003, China imported from the rest of Asia a total of US$272.9 billion worth of merchandise, up by 42.4percent, with imports from ASEAN, Japan, ROK and India increasing by over 35 percent. Direct investment in the rest of Asia by China has risen at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years. In 2003, more than 20 million outbound visits were made by Chinese nationals, as more and more Chinese tourists made Asian countries and regions their choice destinations. With China's development, the size of its market and its overseas investment will grow even larger and still more Chinese will travel to the other parts of Asia for sightseeing, business and visit. China's economy will integrate still more closely with Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance.-- China's development contributes to peace and stability in Asia. A stable and prosperous China is in itself an important contribution to peace and stability in Asia. China since ancient times has had a fine tradition of sincerity, benevolence, kindness and trust towards the neighbors. The very purpose of China's foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development. China always practices what it preaches. Persisting in building good-neighborly relationships and partnership with the neighboring countries, we pursue a policy of bringing harmony, security and prosperity to neighbors and dedicate ourselves to strengthening mutual trust and cooperation with the fellow Asian countries, easing up hot spot tensions, and striving to maintain peace and tranquility in Asia.
China's development injects fresh vigor to regional cooperation in Asia. China has been extensively involved in the various mechanisms of Asia-based regional cooperation, emphasizing its cooperation and coordination with all the parties and promoting regional economic integration. China has joined the fellow Asian countries in discussing the possibility of free trade areas, conducting various forms of security dialogues and cementing cooperation on the bilateral level while promoting regional cooperation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is China's sincere wish to cultivate with the fellow Asian countries an overall and close partnership geared to Asian rejuvenation, a partnership that features equality and mutual trust politically, mutual benefit and win-win economically, exchange and emulation culturally, and dialogue and cooperation on the security front. To this end, China will take the following steps:
First, enhancing friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness. China will develop partnerships with other Asian countries on the basis of the UN Charter and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, treating all countries as equals irrespective of size and committing to settling whatever disputes there might be through dialogue. China hopes to see stronger high-level ties and interactions at other levels with other fellow Asian countries, and more timely consultations and coordination on major international and regional issues.
Second, expanding and deepening bilateral economic cooperation. China is ready to develop all-round economic cooperation with fellow Asian countries with emphasis on trade, investment, natural resources, information, pharmaceuticals, health service, environmental protection, transportation, science and technology, agriculture, poverty alleviation, and development of human resources. China will continue taking practical steps to help other developing Asian countries with their economic development through preferential policies. China will encourage its enterprises to take Asia as their principal destination for "going global" strategy, and combines its western development strategy and the Northeast rejuvenation strategy with strengthened economic cooperation with the neighboring countries.
Third, accelerating regional economic integration. China hopes to study with fellow Asian countries on possible free trade arrangements of various forms consistent with prospective cooperation network of free trade areas in Asia. China is ready to step up its coordination with other Asian partners on macro-economic and financial policies and probe into the establishment of regional cooperation regime of investors, securities market, and financial institutions. China will work actively to promote the institutional building of all kinds of economic cooperation organizations with a view to consolidating resources, prioritizing the key areas and conducting performance-oriented cooperation.
Fourth, promoting cultural interaction and personnel exchanges. China is committed to stronger cultural exchanges in Asia, and encourages media cooperation to jointly build an Asia-wide cultural market. China supports inter-culture and inter-religion dialogues in Asia, and advocates greater understanding and tolerance. China is ready to work with other Asian countries in promoting youth exchanges, and providing greater convenience for people's travel on public, business and tourist purposes.
Fifth, facilitating security dialogue and military-to-military exchanges. China will stick to its new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, and hopes to establish a security relationship and cooperation featuring non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting at any third party. China will step up its cooperation and dialogue with other Asian countries in such security areas as regional counter-terrorism, combating transnational crimes, maritime security, and non-proliferation, giving full play to existing multilateral security mechanisms. China is ready to set up a military security dialogue mechanism with other Asian countries and actively promote confidence-building cooperation in the military field.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China. China will follow a peaceful development path holding high the banners of peace, development and cooperation, join the other Asian countries in bringing about Asian rejuvenation, and making greater contribution to the lofty cause of peace and development in the world.
Thank you.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2004)
星期三, 四月 20, 2005
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As Asia Seeks Common Prosperity, China Promises Opportunities for Neighbors
China Saturday expounded its commitment to Asian cooperation and economic integration and suggested its neighbors seize the opportunities arising from its rapid economic growth.
"China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China," said Chinese President Hu Jintao while addressing the annual conference of an international forum on Asian development, which opened in China's southernmost island province of Hainan Saturday morning.
More than 1,000 senior statesmen, government ministers, business leaders and scholars from 35 countries and regions attended the 2004 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), the third of its kind since the non-governmental forum's founding in 2001.
"A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia," Hu told an audience that included not only Asian political leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, but also dignitaries from outside Asia including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, former US President George Bush and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De Leon.
Hu's speech was titled "China's development is an opportunity for Asia." Robert Hawke, former Australian prime minister and one of the founders of the BFA, shared the same view with Hu. He told Xinhua Friday in an exclusive interview that China's development is "an opportunity, not a problem" for other nations.
With an average annual economic growth rate of 9.4 percent over the past two and a half decades, China is now the largest importer in Asia and its direct investment in the rest of Asia has been rising at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years. In 2003, over 20 million Chinese nationals traveled overseas, mostly to destinations in other Asian countries and regions.
"China has, and will continue to make a positive impact on Asia in the area of development," said Hu. "With China's development, the size of its market and its overseas investment will grow even larger and still more Chinese will travel to the other parts of Asia for sightseeing, business and visit."
"China's economy will integrate still more closely with the Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance," he added.
With an increasing number of Asian countries and regions starting to realize the importance of bilateral, regional cooperation and economic integration to Asia's future development, the Boao Asian Forum has taken "Asia searching for win-win" as a permanent theme for its annual conferences.
The two-day BFA 2004 annual conference will host nearly 20 plenary sessions, roundtable meetings, concurrent sessions and luncheon sessions focusing on Asian cooperation, with main topics like "Post-Cancun multilateral trading system and Asian economic integration," "Asian IT industry and standards," "Energy: challenges and cooperation," "Supply chain and made in Asia" and "Asian cultural exchange and cooperation."
"Hu's words are very encouraging as he put the emphasis on cross-Asia cooperation, and China will play an important role in the field," commented Clay Wescott, principal regional cooperation specialist of the Asian Development Bank.
In his 20-minute speech, the Chinese president also outlined five steps China plans to take to strengthen its cooperation with Asian neighbors, namely, enhancing friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness; expanding and deepening bilateral economic cooperation; accelerating regional economic integration; promoting cultural interaction and personnel exchanges, and facilitating security dialogue and military-to-military exchanges.
Faroop Moin, an editor of the Pakistan Press International who had come along with the Pakistan prime minister, said that it is very important that China will cooperate with other regional countries and bring opportunities for all. "The policy of the Chinese government is in line with the needs of the international community," he added.
This was the fourth year in a row for the Boao Asian Forum to have China's head of state or government participate in its founding ceremony or annual conferences. While chairing the opening ceremony, Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the forum, thanked the Chinese leadership for their "great support to the forum all the time since its founding."
The steady development of the Boao forum has demonstrated the "fervent desire" of the Asian people for a win-win scenario through closer cooperation, said Hu in his speech.
The BFA has picked Boao, a picturesque small coastal town with only 20,000 residents, as the permanent venue for its annual full meetings, though each year it also hosts smaller-sized conferences, seminars and meetings in other places around Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2004)
As Asia Seeks Common Prosperity, China Promises Opportunities for Neighbors
China Saturday expounded its commitment to Asian cooperation and economic integration and suggested its neighbors seize the opportunities arising from its rapid economic growth.
"China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China," said Chinese President Hu Jintao while addressing the annual conference of an international forum on Asian development, which opened in China's southernmost island province of Hainan Saturday morning.
More than 1,000 senior statesmen, government ministers, business leaders and scholars from 35 countries and regions attended the 2004 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), the third of its kind since the non-governmental forum's founding in 2001.
"A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia," Hu told an audience that included not only Asian political leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, but also dignitaries from outside Asia including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, former US President George Bush and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De Leon.
Hu's speech was titled "China's development is an opportunity for Asia." Robert Hawke, former Australian prime minister and one of the founders of the BFA, shared the same view with Hu. He told Xinhua Friday in an exclusive interview that China's development is "an opportunity, not a problem" for other nations.
With an average annual economic growth rate of 9.4 percent over the past two and a half decades, China is now the largest importer in Asia and its direct investment in the rest of Asia has been rising at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years. In 2003, over 20 million Chinese nationals traveled overseas, mostly to destinations in other Asian countries and regions.
"China has, and will continue to make a positive impact on Asia in the area of development," said Hu. "With China's development, the size of its market and its overseas investment will grow even larger and still more Chinese will travel to the other parts of Asia for sightseeing, business and visit."
"China's economy will integrate still more closely with the Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance," he added.
With an increasing number of Asian countries and regions starting to realize the importance of bilateral, regional cooperation and economic integration to Asia's future development, the Boao Asian Forum has taken "Asia searching for win-win" as a permanent theme for its annual conferences.
The two-day BFA 2004 annual conference will host nearly 20 plenary sessions, roundtable meetings, concurrent sessions and luncheon sessions focusing on Asian cooperation, with main topics like "Post-Cancun multilateral trading system and Asian economic integration," "Asian IT industry and standards," "Energy: challenges and cooperation," "Supply chain and made in Asia" and "Asian cultural exchange and cooperation."
"Hu's words are very encouraging as he put the emphasis on cross-Asia cooperation, and China will play an important role in the field," commented Clay Wescott, principal regional cooperation specialist of the Asian Development Bank.
In his 20-minute speech, the Chinese president also outlined five steps China plans to take to strengthen its cooperation with Asian neighbors, namely, enhancing friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness; expanding and deepening bilateral economic cooperation; accelerating regional economic integration; promoting cultural interaction and personnel exchanges, and facilitating security dialogue and military-to-military exchanges.
Faroop Moin, an editor of the Pakistan Press International who had come along with the Pakistan prime minister, said that it is very important that China will cooperate with other regional countries and bring opportunities for all. "The policy of the Chinese government is in line with the needs of the international community," he added.
This was the fourth year in a row for the Boao Asian Forum to have China's head of state or government participate in its founding ceremony or annual conferences. While chairing the opening ceremony, Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the forum, thanked the Chinese leadership for their "great support to the forum all the time since its founding."
The steady development of the Boao forum has demonstrated the "fervent desire" of the Asian people for a win-win scenario through closer cooperation, said Hu in his speech.
The BFA has picked Boao, a picturesque small coastal town with only 20,000 residents, as the permanent venue for its annual full meetings, though each year it also hosts smaller-sized conferences, seminars and meetings in other places around Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2004)
China Internet Information Center
China Internet Information Center
Bilateral, Regional Trade Focus at Boao Meeting
BOAO: Long Yongtu, a former Chinese trade official, was not on the panel of trade ministers at the Boao Forum for Asia. He was, however, responsible for masterminding the session on Saturday and invited most of the speakers, if not all of them.
The forum held its 2004 annual conference on Saturday and Sunday at the resort town in South China's island province of Hainan.
Long, now the secretary-general of the forum, is no longer China's trade negotiator and vice foreign minister, but he still follows developments in the global trade system, which has seen difficulties after encountering failure at a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) last year in Cancun, Mexico.
Organizers of the Boao forum, including Long, said they hoped the forum would serve as a platform for discussions on the integration of Asian economies.
The topic is also hot for trade ministers because, so far, bilateral and regional trade arrangements are the most noteworthy moves in Asian economies' efforts towards regional cooperation.
There have been worries that bilateral and regional trade arrangements will make a multilateral system irrelevant.
At the trade ministers' session, however, they agreed that the Doha Round of global trade talks may still have a good chance of concluding successfully.
The multilateral trade system, they said, will continue to work.
The ministers also agreed that subregional and bilateral trade agreements will not undermine the multilateral system. Rather, they are complementary.
Doha Round
"I have faith that the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations will still come to a successful conclusion," said Australian trade minister Mark Vaile.
While negotiations essentially stalled following Cancun, there have been some encouraging signs in the last few months that members are willing to re-engage in the Doha negotiations.
Both the Unites States and the European Union have indicated they are willing to work towards a framework for agriculture negotiations by mid-year.
Talks were held on agriculture issues last week in Geneva.
But still, there are doubts the Doha Round will conclude on schedule.
"I wish to allay fears and projections as to adverse implications of missing the deadline of January 1 2005 to complete the Doha Round," said Cesar Purisima, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines.
"While we remain hopeful that we can find consensus on the complex issues we face, if the WTO were to miss the deadline, the results would still be within the range of what is normal, judging from the experience in the Tokyo round of the 1970s and the Uruguay Round that concluded in 1994."
Ministers on the panel which also included Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou, Japanese Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Goji Sakamoto, South Korean Minister of Trade Hwang Doo-yun, and New Zealand's Minister for Trade Negotiations Jim Sutton all said that WTO members still take the trade body and global trade talks seriously.
The WTO is the only international body that provides a global framework of enforceable rules and discipline in international trade these rules ensure fairer and more secure access to world markets for all members, said Australia's Vaile, whose point was echoed by all the other panelists.
Disagreements on hard issues such as agriculture caused the breakdown of the Cancun meeting.
But WTO members have also realized that "the most intractable problems in global trade especially agricultural subsidies need resolution through multilateral channels, with all key subsidizers acting together to remove distortions," Vaile said.
Sakamoto said promoting liberalization and transparency within the WTO is the basis for trade policy in Japan, the biggest economy in the region.
He said that, in the renewed talks, WTO members need to "flexibly balance aspirations and reality" and focus on growth in developing economies.
China's Yu has similar views.
He stressed that concerns and interests from developing economies must be reflected in the outcome of the negotiations.
Regionalism pondered
Asian countries have been showing great interest in regional trade arrangements particularly the building of free trade areas (FTAs) since the setback in Cancun.
Critics such as former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke said the blossoming of these regional deals will divert countries' efforts away from the multilateral system and should not be encouraged.
But none of the trade ministers seemed to agree with him.
"We believe the WTO will continue to function at the center of the multilateral trading system. Nonetheless, we also recognize that trade and investment flows are not distributed evenly among all the countries," said Sakamoto.
This is the reason it is sometimes possible to achieve much higher levels of liberalization with certain countries and regions than within the WTO's very diverse membership make-up, he said.
In fact, Asia is a relative newcomer to the trend of regionalism.
Europeans have the EU. And Americans have the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Asia hadn't seen its answer to these economic unions, even smaller in size, until recently.
Currently, of the approximately 200 regional trade arrangements (RTA) worldwide, Asia only accounts for 5 percent, according to South Korea's Hwang.
With the exception of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which began to build their FTA in the early 1990s, it was only recently that Asian countries became involved in RTAs.
Some observers said that it was the sweeping financial crisis in 1997 that made Southeast Asian countries become acutely aware of the need to accelerate their integration.
"Economic history also indicated that integration is beneficial," said Purisima.
Asia's RTAs "will be conducive to developing the internal market of Asia and defending external shocks," said China's Yu.
So far, East Asian and South Asian economies have signed 14 RTAs. Many bilateral FTAs are being negotiated or explored among major economic players in the region.
However, the ministers did agree that there are pitfalls to regionalism.
FTAs are discriminatory and preferential by definition. A patchwork of preferential arrangements around the globe does challenge the core WTO principle of most favored nation (MFN).
Blind regionalism could lead to the creation of a complex web of rules that only increases the cost for businesses and governments, South Korea's Hwang said.
In addition, if sensitive items are put aside for political expediency, RTAs would only make limited contributions to the global liberalization process, he said.
So RTAs should be encouraged only when they are based on multilateral rules, the ministers agreed.
And RTAs must be comprehensive in their coverage.
"We should make sure that our regional approach does not become a substitute for multilateralism," Hwang said.
Only when RTAs are managed with the appropriate approach can they serve as "building blocks" rather than stumbling blocks for the multilateral process, New Zealand's Sutton said.
"To achieve this, they need to be WTO-plus, not WTO-minus, Integration, but without turning inwards," he said.
Hwang also suggested Asian economies look into linking up the various FTAs so as to create a regional arrangements that cover all of Asia.
Hwang said Asia's effort in trade relations "should take us beyond trade, into such issues that are not yet fully dealt with by the multilateral system."
Investment is one area where regional co-operation is needed to supplement the lack of multilateral rules, he said.
The need for cooperation in finance is equally strong, he said. "In the long run, we should address such issues as setting up an intra-regional exchange rate coordination mechanism, regional bond markets and even a common currency system," he said.
The cooperation could extend much further to include human resource development, region-wide information networking and other issues that would help lay the foundation for even deeper economic integration in Asia, he said.
(China Daily April 26, 2004)
Bilateral, Regional Trade Focus at Boao Meeting
BOAO: Long Yongtu, a former Chinese trade official, was not on the panel of trade ministers at the Boao Forum for Asia. He was, however, responsible for masterminding the session on Saturday and invited most of the speakers, if not all of them.
The forum held its 2004 annual conference on Saturday and Sunday at the resort town in South China's island province of Hainan.
Long, now the secretary-general of the forum, is no longer China's trade negotiator and vice foreign minister, but he still follows developments in the global trade system, which has seen difficulties after encountering failure at a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) last year in Cancun, Mexico.
Organizers of the Boao forum, including Long, said they hoped the forum would serve as a platform for discussions on the integration of Asian economies.
The topic is also hot for trade ministers because, so far, bilateral and regional trade arrangements are the most noteworthy moves in Asian economies' efforts towards regional cooperation.
There have been worries that bilateral and regional trade arrangements will make a multilateral system irrelevant.
At the trade ministers' session, however, they agreed that the Doha Round of global trade talks may still have a good chance of concluding successfully.
The multilateral trade system, they said, will continue to work.
The ministers also agreed that subregional and bilateral trade agreements will not undermine the multilateral system. Rather, they are complementary.
Doha Round
"I have faith that the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations will still come to a successful conclusion," said Australian trade minister Mark Vaile.
While negotiations essentially stalled following Cancun, there have been some encouraging signs in the last few months that members are willing to re-engage in the Doha negotiations.
Both the Unites States and the European Union have indicated they are willing to work towards a framework for agriculture negotiations by mid-year.
Talks were held on agriculture issues last week in Geneva.
But still, there are doubts the Doha Round will conclude on schedule.
"I wish to allay fears and projections as to adverse implications of missing the deadline of January 1 2005 to complete the Doha Round," said Cesar Purisima, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines.
"While we remain hopeful that we can find consensus on the complex issues we face, if the WTO were to miss the deadline, the results would still be within the range of what is normal, judging from the experience in the Tokyo round of the 1970s and the Uruguay Round that concluded in 1994."
Ministers on the panel which also included Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou, Japanese Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Goji Sakamoto, South Korean Minister of Trade Hwang Doo-yun, and New Zealand's Minister for Trade Negotiations Jim Sutton all said that WTO members still take the trade body and global trade talks seriously.
The WTO is the only international body that provides a global framework of enforceable rules and discipline in international trade these rules ensure fairer and more secure access to world markets for all members, said Australia's Vaile, whose point was echoed by all the other panelists.
Disagreements on hard issues such as agriculture caused the breakdown of the Cancun meeting.
But WTO members have also realized that "the most intractable problems in global trade especially agricultural subsidies need resolution through multilateral channels, with all key subsidizers acting together to remove distortions," Vaile said.
Sakamoto said promoting liberalization and transparency within the WTO is the basis for trade policy in Japan, the biggest economy in the region.
He said that, in the renewed talks, WTO members need to "flexibly balance aspirations and reality" and focus on growth in developing economies.
China's Yu has similar views.
He stressed that concerns and interests from developing economies must be reflected in the outcome of the negotiations.
Regionalism pondered
Asian countries have been showing great interest in regional trade arrangements particularly the building of free trade areas (FTAs) since the setback in Cancun.
Critics such as former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke said the blossoming of these regional deals will divert countries' efforts away from the multilateral system and should not be encouraged.
But none of the trade ministers seemed to agree with him.
"We believe the WTO will continue to function at the center of the multilateral trading system. Nonetheless, we also recognize that trade and investment flows are not distributed evenly among all the countries," said Sakamoto.
This is the reason it is sometimes possible to achieve much higher levels of liberalization with certain countries and regions than within the WTO's very diverse membership make-up, he said.
In fact, Asia is a relative newcomer to the trend of regionalism.
Europeans have the EU. And Americans have the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Asia hadn't seen its answer to these economic unions, even smaller in size, until recently.
Currently, of the approximately 200 regional trade arrangements (RTA) worldwide, Asia only accounts for 5 percent, according to South Korea's Hwang.
With the exception of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which began to build their FTA in the early 1990s, it was only recently that Asian countries became involved in RTAs.
Some observers said that it was the sweeping financial crisis in 1997 that made Southeast Asian countries become acutely aware of the need to accelerate their integration.
"Economic history also indicated that integration is beneficial," said Purisima.
Asia's RTAs "will be conducive to developing the internal market of Asia and defending external shocks," said China's Yu.
So far, East Asian and South Asian economies have signed 14 RTAs. Many bilateral FTAs are being negotiated or explored among major economic players in the region.
However, the ministers did agree that there are pitfalls to regionalism.
FTAs are discriminatory and preferential by definition. A patchwork of preferential arrangements around the globe does challenge the core WTO principle of most favored nation (MFN).
Blind regionalism could lead to the creation of a complex web of rules that only increases the cost for businesses and governments, South Korea's Hwang said.
In addition, if sensitive items are put aside for political expediency, RTAs would only make limited contributions to the global liberalization process, he said.
So RTAs should be encouraged only when they are based on multilateral rules, the ministers agreed.
And RTAs must be comprehensive in their coverage.
"We should make sure that our regional approach does not become a substitute for multilateralism," Hwang said.
Only when RTAs are managed with the appropriate approach can they serve as "building blocks" rather than stumbling blocks for the multilateral process, New Zealand's Sutton said.
"To achieve this, they need to be WTO-plus, not WTO-minus, Integration, but without turning inwards," he said.
Hwang also suggested Asian economies look into linking up the various FTAs so as to create a regional arrangements that cover all of Asia.
Hwang said Asia's effort in trade relations "should take us beyond trade, into such issues that are not yet fully dealt with by the multilateral system."
Investment is one area where regional co-operation is needed to supplement the lack of multilateral rules, he said.
The need for cooperation in finance is equally strong, he said. "In the long run, we should address such issues as setting up an intra-regional exchange rate coordination mechanism, regional bond markets and even a common currency system," he said.
The cooperation could extend much further to include human resource development, region-wide information networking and other issues that would help lay the foundation for even deeper economic integration in Asia, he said.
(China Daily April 26, 2004)
China financial cooperation
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China Plays Active Role in Financial Cooperation
China is joining hands with its neighboring countries to develop the bond market in Asia, an official with China's central bank said in Shanghai Sunday.
China has actively initiated and participated in the regional financial cooperation, said He Jianxiong, deputy director general of the International Department of the People's Bank of China, at the ongoing Asia-Pacific Business Forum, a side event of the 60th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
As a major method to develop the Asian bond market, the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) was launched in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in June, 2003 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) (10+3).
The second phase of the ABF has been approved to pave the way for investments in local currency-denominated Asian bonds after the successful launch of the first-phase one billion-US dollar ABF.
Financial experts have said the establishment of the Asian bond market indicates that the regional financial cooperation has entered into the phase of preventing monetary crisis from the headstream.
In addition to participating in the regional financial cooperation, China has taken a series of domestic financial policies, including moderating credit growth to hold down price level and stabilizing its currency exchange rate.
"China's financial policy could benefit the region as a whole," He Jianxiong said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2004)
China Plays Active Role in Financial Cooperation
China is joining hands with its neighboring countries to develop the bond market in Asia, an official with China's central bank said in Shanghai Sunday.
China has actively initiated and participated in the regional financial cooperation, said He Jianxiong, deputy director general of the International Department of the People's Bank of China, at the ongoing Asia-Pacific Business Forum, a side event of the 60th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
As a major method to develop the Asian bond market, the Asian Bond Fund (ABF) was launched in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in June, 2003 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) (10+3).
The second phase of the ABF has been approved to pave the way for investments in local currency-denominated Asian bonds after the successful launch of the first-phase one billion-US dollar ABF.
Financial experts have said the establishment of the Asian bond market indicates that the regional financial cooperation has entered into the phase of preventing monetary crisis from the headstream.
In addition to participating in the regional financial cooperation, China has taken a series of domestic financial policies, including moderating credit growth to hold down price level and stabilizing its currency exchange rate.
"China's financial policy could benefit the region as a whole," He Jianxiong said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2004)
China benefits neighbours China Internet Information Center
China Internet Information Center
China Promises Opportunities for Neighbors
China on Saturday expounded its commitment to Asian cooperation and economic integration and suggested that its neighbors seize the opportunities arising from the country's rapid economic growth.
"China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China," said Chinese President Hu Jintao while addressing the annual conference of an influential international forum on Asian development, which opened in China's southernmost island province of Hainan Saturday morning.
More than 1,000 political VIPs, government ministers, business leaders and scholars from 35 countries and regions attended the 2004 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), the third of its kind since the non-governmental forum's founding in 2001.
"A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia," Hu told the audience among whom there were not only Asian political leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, but also dignitaries from outside Asia including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, former US President George Bush and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De Leon.
Having maintained an incredible average annual economic growth of 9.4 percent over the past two and a half decades, China is now the largest importer in Asia and its direct investment in the rest of Asia has been rising at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years. In 2003, over 20 million Chinese nationals traveled overseas, for whom other Asian countries and regions were leading destinations.
"China has, and will continue to make a positive impact on Asia in the area of development," said Hu. "With China's development, the size of its market and its overseas investment will grow even larger and still more Chinese will travel to the other parts of Asia for sightseeing, business and visit."
"China's economy will integrate still more closely with the Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance," he added.
With an increasing number of Asian countries and regions starting to realize the importance of bilateral, regional cooperation and economic integration to Asia's future development, the Boao Asian Forum has taken "Asia searching for win-win" as a permanent theme for its annual conferences.
The two-day BFA 2004 annual conference will host nearly 20 plenary sessions, roundtable meetings, concurrent sessions and luncheon sessions focusing on Asian cooperation, with main topics like "Post-Cancun multilateral trading system and Asian economic integration," "Asian IT industry and standards," "Energy: challenges and cooperation," "Supply chain and made in Asia" and "Asian cultural exchange and cooperation."
In his 20-minute speech, the Chinese president also outlined five steps China plans to take to strengthen its cooperation with Asian neighbors, namely, enhancing friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness; expanding and deepening bilateral economic cooperation; accelerating regional economic integration; promoting cultural interaction and personnel exchanges, and facilitating security dialogue and military-to-military exchanges.
This was the fourth year in a row for the Boao Asian Forum to have China's head of state or top government leader participate in its founding ceremony or annual conferences. Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the forum, thanked the Chinese leadership for their "great support to the forum all the time since its founding."
The steady development of the Boao forum has demonstrated the "fervent desire" of the Asian people for a win-win scenario through closer cooperation, said Hu in his speech.
The BFA has picked Boao, a picturesque small coastal town with only 20,000-strong residents, as the permanent venue for its annual full meetings, though each year it also hosts smaller-sized conferences, seminars and meetings in other places around Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2004)
China Promises Opportunities for Neighbors
China on Saturday expounded its commitment to Asian cooperation and economic integration and suggested that its neighbors seize the opportunities arising from the country's rapid economic growth.
"China's development cannot be achieved in isolation of Asia, and Asia's prosperity also needs China," said Chinese President Hu Jintao while addressing the annual conference of an influential international forum on Asian development, which opened in China's southernmost island province of Hainan Saturday morning.
More than 1,000 political VIPs, government ministers, business leaders and scholars from 35 countries and regions attended the 2004 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), the third of its kind since the non-governmental forum's founding in 2001.
"A developing China generates important opportunities for Asia," Hu told the audience among whom there were not only Asian political leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, but also dignitaries from outside Asia including Czech President Vaclav Klaus, former US President George Bush and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De Leon.
Having maintained an incredible average annual economic growth of 9.4 percent over the past two and a half decades, China is now the largest importer in Asia and its direct investment in the rest of Asia has been rising at an average annual rate of 20 percent in recent years. In 2003, over 20 million Chinese nationals traveled overseas, for whom other Asian countries and regions were leading destinations.
"China has, and will continue to make a positive impact on Asia in the area of development," said Hu. "With China's development, the size of its market and its overseas investment will grow even larger and still more Chinese will travel to the other parts of Asia for sightseeing, business and visit."
"China's economy will integrate still more closely with the Asian economy, giving rise to a new type of partnership characterized by mutual benefit, mutual complement and mutual assistance," he added.
With an increasing number of Asian countries and regions starting to realize the importance of bilateral, regional cooperation and economic integration to Asia's future development, the Boao Asian Forum has taken "Asia searching for win-win" as a permanent theme for its annual conferences.
The two-day BFA 2004 annual conference will host nearly 20 plenary sessions, roundtable meetings, concurrent sessions and luncheon sessions focusing on Asian cooperation, with main topics like "Post-Cancun multilateral trading system and Asian economic integration," "Asian IT industry and standards," "Energy: challenges and cooperation," "Supply chain and made in Asia" and "Asian cultural exchange and cooperation."
In his 20-minute speech, the Chinese president also outlined five steps China plans to take to strengthen its cooperation with Asian neighbors, namely, enhancing friendship and political trust and good-neighborliness; expanding and deepening bilateral economic cooperation; accelerating regional economic integration; promoting cultural interaction and personnel exchanges, and facilitating security dialogue and military-to-military exchanges.
This was the fourth year in a row for the Boao Asian Forum to have China's head of state or top government leader participate in its founding ceremony or annual conferences. Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the forum, thanked the Chinese leadership for their "great support to the forum all the time since its founding."
The steady development of the Boao forum has demonstrated the "fervent desire" of the Asian people for a win-win scenario through closer cooperation, said Hu in his speech.
The BFA has picked Boao, a picturesque small coastal town with only 20,000-strong residents, as the permanent venue for its annual full meetings, though each year it also hosts smaller-sized conferences, seminars and meetings in other places around Asia.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2004)
regional integration China Internet Information Center
China Internet Information Center
Realizing Regional Integration
There has been eye-catching progress in regional cooperation in East Asia.
Regional integration, an inevitable trend in the world, is led by the European Union (EU) with its common market, single currency and expanding number of members.
The North American Free Trade Area has been established in North America. Negotiations on expanding the Free Trade Area (FTA) to Central America have been concluded and negotiations on expanding the FTA to South America are also in the plans.
Other areas such as Africa and South Asia are also making great efforts to promote their own regional cooperation.
China's participation in and promotion of regional cooperation in East Asia is in its own best interests.
Geographically, East Asia consists of the five Northeast Asian nations and 10 Southeast Asian nations with a total population of 1.7 billion and US$7,000 billion in gross domestic product (calculated at the current exchange rate).
Regional cooperation in East Asia was not actually started until the outbreak of the Asia Financial Crisis in 1997.
Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the first unofficial summit meeting between the leaders of ASEAN nations and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was held in Malaysia on December 15, 1997, and is regarded as a new starting point in regional cooperation.
During the summit meeting held in the Philippines the following year, consensus on the principles, direction and emphasis of regional cooperation was reached and a joint statement on East Asia cooperation was also published for the first time. Since then, besides the summit meeting held annually, many ministerial meetings have also been added gradually. The "10+3" (10 ASEAN nations plus China, Japan and the ROK) mechanism has become the main channel for dialogue and cooperation between East Asian nations.
What is worth noting is that although "10+3" is only a regional dialogue mechanism, many substantial achievements have been made under its framework.
In the field of financial cooperation, a mechanism for regional currency cooperation has been set up through the Chiang Mai Agreement, which has laid the foundation for higher-level regional financial cooperation in the future development of the region.
In the field of trade and investment, although there is not yet an FTA plan covering the whole of East Asia, there have been many significant developments under the framework of regional cooperation, the first of which is the plan to establish the China-ASEAN FTA. In November 2001, the leaders of China and ASEAN reached consensus on building closer economic cooperation links and announced they would set up a FTA within 10 years, which will be the largest one in the world, in terms of population. There are also free trade plans in the works between Japan and ASEAN, between the ROK and ASEAN and between China, Japan and the ROK.
In the field of economic cooperation, one of the important areas of progress is the consensus and cooperation programs on the development of the Mekong River area under the framework of "10+3."
In addition, a lot of progress has also been made in agriculture, the development and application of new technologies and environmental cooperation.
In fact, given its political significance, what the "10+3" mechanism pushes is more than just regional economic cooperation process.
Providing a platform for countries to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation through dialogue, the "10+3" mechanism contributes to the improvement of political relations between East Asian nations.
From the viewpoint of development, all the efforts made under the mechanism will further promote more stable and intimate political cooperative relations in the region of East Asia.
The East Asia cooperation process stems from pragmatic needs. It increasingly adds new areas of cooperation, aimed at gradually establishing and perfecting an comprehensive cooperation mechanism. This is an outstanding feature of regional cooperation in East Asia.
There are, however, still some issues in East Asia cooperation that need to be resolved.
The first one is building a FTA covering the whole of East Asia by integrating the current separate processes.
Second, the "10+3" mechanism currently is a forum for cooperative dialogue between ASEAN and China, Japan and the ROK. However, in structure, it is in fact three "10+1s," since ASEAN holds dialogues with China, Japan and the ROK separately. Hence, it needs to think about how to move from the current "10+3" summit meetings to "East Asian summit meetings" and to establish some coordinating institutions.
The third one is the long-term goals of East Asia cooperation. It will take time for East Asian nations to reach consensus on long-term goals, and there is also a need for further discussion on the definition of "East Asian Community" and on what practical measures to take to promote such goals.
The East Asia cooperation process is under way, and there are many favorable conditions promoting its continuance.
First, the common benefits of cooperation have been strengthening, such as the increasingly closer economic links between East Asian nations and the growth of trade and investment within the region.
At present, trade within the region occupies more than 50 percent of the region's total trade and the growth rate of trade within the region is higher than that with areas outside the region. At the same time, there has been an obvious growth of investment within the region.
Second, the rapid progress in regional cooperation in other regions has also imposed pressure upon East Asia, which has to accelerate its pace of regional cooperation.
Of course, many difficulties do exist in pushing East Asia cooperation.
Due to insufficient understanding of the factors involved in regional cooperation, time will be needed to reach consensus on the goals of cooperation.
The reality and features of this region must be taken into consideration in East Asia cooperation.
First, the differences in this region are great. Japan is the second largest economy in the world; China is the world's most populous country and Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are the world's most under-developed nations.
Second, between the major nations, in particular between China and Japan, there exist huge differences in development, strategy, security concerns and understanding of history. Therefore, mutual trust is a very essential element in pushing forward the East Asia cooperation process. Without some kind of consensus on history and joint efforts on the part of both China and Japan, the process of East Asia cooperation will be slowed down and success will be hard to realize.
China has been playing a positive role in participating in and promoting the East Asia cooperative process. On the one hand, China has initiated promotion of regional cooperation, and on the other hand, China has seriously worked to bring about consensus among the countries of the region.
There is much work that still has to be done. Positive participation in and promotion of East Asia cooperation conforms to China's practical and long-term interests.
More importantly, not only the Chinese government but also its enterprises need to take part in and push for strengthening East Asia cooperation. Chinese enterprises must grasp this opportunity and positively cultivate external markets so as to realize the strategic goal of "going global."
(China Daily March 29, 2004)
Realizing Regional Integration
There has been eye-catching progress in regional cooperation in East Asia.
Regional integration, an inevitable trend in the world, is led by the European Union (EU) with its common market, single currency and expanding number of members.
The North American Free Trade Area has been established in North America. Negotiations on expanding the Free Trade Area (FTA) to Central America have been concluded and negotiations on expanding the FTA to South America are also in the plans.
Other areas such as Africa and South Asia are also making great efforts to promote their own regional cooperation.
China's participation in and promotion of regional cooperation in East Asia is in its own best interests.
Geographically, East Asia consists of the five Northeast Asian nations and 10 Southeast Asian nations with a total population of 1.7 billion and US$7,000 billion in gross domestic product (calculated at the current exchange rate).
Regional cooperation in East Asia was not actually started until the outbreak of the Asia Financial Crisis in 1997.
Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the first unofficial summit meeting between the leaders of ASEAN nations and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was held in Malaysia on December 15, 1997, and is regarded as a new starting point in regional cooperation.
During the summit meeting held in the Philippines the following year, consensus on the principles, direction and emphasis of regional cooperation was reached and a joint statement on East Asia cooperation was also published for the first time. Since then, besides the summit meeting held annually, many ministerial meetings have also been added gradually. The "10+3" (10 ASEAN nations plus China, Japan and the ROK) mechanism has become the main channel for dialogue and cooperation between East Asian nations.
What is worth noting is that although "10+3" is only a regional dialogue mechanism, many substantial achievements have been made under its framework.
In the field of financial cooperation, a mechanism for regional currency cooperation has been set up through the Chiang Mai Agreement, which has laid the foundation for higher-level regional financial cooperation in the future development of the region.
In the field of trade and investment, although there is not yet an FTA plan covering the whole of East Asia, there have been many significant developments under the framework of regional cooperation, the first of which is the plan to establish the China-ASEAN FTA. In November 2001, the leaders of China and ASEAN reached consensus on building closer economic cooperation links and announced they would set up a FTA within 10 years, which will be the largest one in the world, in terms of population. There are also free trade plans in the works between Japan and ASEAN, between the ROK and ASEAN and between China, Japan and the ROK.
In the field of economic cooperation, one of the important areas of progress is the consensus and cooperation programs on the development of the Mekong River area under the framework of "10+3."
In addition, a lot of progress has also been made in agriculture, the development and application of new technologies and environmental cooperation.
In fact, given its political significance, what the "10+3" mechanism pushes is more than just regional economic cooperation process.
Providing a platform for countries to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation through dialogue, the "10+3" mechanism contributes to the improvement of political relations between East Asian nations.
From the viewpoint of development, all the efforts made under the mechanism will further promote more stable and intimate political cooperative relations in the region of East Asia.
The East Asia cooperation process stems from pragmatic needs. It increasingly adds new areas of cooperation, aimed at gradually establishing and perfecting an comprehensive cooperation mechanism. This is an outstanding feature of regional cooperation in East Asia.
There are, however, still some issues in East Asia cooperation that need to be resolved.
The first one is building a FTA covering the whole of East Asia by integrating the current separate processes.
Second, the "10+3" mechanism currently is a forum for cooperative dialogue between ASEAN and China, Japan and the ROK. However, in structure, it is in fact three "10+1s," since ASEAN holds dialogues with China, Japan and the ROK separately. Hence, it needs to think about how to move from the current "10+3" summit meetings to "East Asian summit meetings" and to establish some coordinating institutions.
The third one is the long-term goals of East Asia cooperation. It will take time for East Asian nations to reach consensus on long-term goals, and there is also a need for further discussion on the definition of "East Asian Community" and on what practical measures to take to promote such goals.
The East Asia cooperation process is under way, and there are many favorable conditions promoting its continuance.
First, the common benefits of cooperation have been strengthening, such as the increasingly closer economic links between East Asian nations and the growth of trade and investment within the region.
At present, trade within the region occupies more than 50 percent of the region's total trade and the growth rate of trade within the region is higher than that with areas outside the region. At the same time, there has been an obvious growth of investment within the region.
Second, the rapid progress in regional cooperation in other regions has also imposed pressure upon East Asia, which has to accelerate its pace of regional cooperation.
Of course, many difficulties do exist in pushing East Asia cooperation.
Due to insufficient understanding of the factors involved in regional cooperation, time will be needed to reach consensus on the goals of cooperation.
The reality and features of this region must be taken into consideration in East Asia cooperation.
First, the differences in this region are great. Japan is the second largest economy in the world; China is the world's most populous country and Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are the world's most under-developed nations.
Second, between the major nations, in particular between China and Japan, there exist huge differences in development, strategy, security concerns and understanding of history. Therefore, mutual trust is a very essential element in pushing forward the East Asia cooperation process. Without some kind of consensus on history and joint efforts on the part of both China and Japan, the process of East Asia cooperation will be slowed down and success will be hard to realize.
China has been playing a positive role in participating in and promoting the East Asia cooperative process. On the one hand, China has initiated promotion of regional cooperation, and on the other hand, China has seriously worked to bring about consensus among the countries of the region.
There is much work that still has to be done. Positive participation in and promotion of East Asia cooperation conforms to China's practical and long-term interests.
More importantly, not only the Chinese government but also its enterprises need to take part in and push for strengthening East Asia cooperation. Chinese enterprises must grasp this opportunity and positively cultivate external markets so as to realize the strategic goal of "going global."
(China Daily March 29, 2004)
New Int Econ Order China Internet Information Center
China Internet Information Center
Create a Fairer and More Rational International Economic Order in Interdependence
Comments on the Declaration on World Economic Development (Zhuhai Declaration) (7)
By Yu Yongding, research fellow, director of Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and He Fan, assistant director of Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Declaration on World Economic Development (Zhuhai Declaration) points out, "Under the circumstances of market economy, the countries and economic entities in the world carry on trade in commodities and services and make investment between them. Closed countries and economic entities, however, cannot effectively participate in world economy and their economic development is thus adversely affected. Therefore, all the countries and economic entities should be open to and dependent on each other and enjoy common development in accordance with the rules and regulations formulated by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization."
Globalization has changed the landscape of the world. The stage of mankind is getting bigger and bigger. Through globalization, we and unfamiliar cities and remote rural areas are more and more becoming a community of interests sharing weal and woe. The world, however, is getting smaller and smaller with people from various regions becoming the residents of the "earth village". Countries, poor or rich, big or small, are bound together more tightly by the ties of trade and investment. Globalization has also transformed the vision of the people. Each country, each place is part of the world and at the same time its center. In a scenic and open city of Zhuhai, South China, the wisdom of political, business and academic circles of various countries has converged and the Zhuhai Declaration is to be released. This declaration will convey the attention to and care about the future of a group of leading figures who keep the globe in their minds and express their common desire for peace and development.
Globalization has resulted in the ever-deepening interdependence. Commodities and capital flow more and more across boundaries and the chain of the division of labor stretches longer and longer. Very often a product has already toured the world before it is shipped out of the factory. The result of a round of World Trade Organization negotiations in Geneva may possibly have an impact on the life of farmers in rural areas of Northwest China. The ups and downs of the United States economy will invariably stir up waves in the economies of East Asia across the Pacific. It is getting more and more impossible for one country to develop economy and improve the livelihood of its population under closed circumstances. Globalization is looking for opportunities for the optimum distribution of resources throughout the world. International division of labor has permeated every piece of land on earth. The economic development of each country has been placed onto the stage of global economy. Each country needs to find the role fittest to itself, give play to its comparative advantages, integrate itself into the framework of international division of labor and excel in global competition.
The surging globalization is not only the product of scientific and technological progress and increased productivity, but also the result of innovations of system. After World War II, the establishment of the international economic order headed by the troika of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and GATT enabled world economy to march from more than 30 years of wars, hostilities and chaos to peace, cooperation and coordination. In the latter half of the 20th century, the economies of various countries competed with one another for glamour and they prospered day by day. Not only the developed countries went through a "golden era" rarely seen in history, but also the countries of planned economy attracted people's attention with their quick industrialization and the maintaining of high-rate economic growth. The newly industrialized economic entities represented by the four Asian small dragons, exerting their utmost and catching up from behind, have realized to a great extent the dream of backward countries catching up with and surpassing advanced countries. From the above historic experience we may find that a comparatively stable and fair international economic order constitutes the essential guarantee for a smooth development of globalization. And the setting up of international economic order requires the mutual understanding, communication, coordination and compromise. Big powers need magnanimity and small countries vision.
In the 21st century, globalization has entered into a more complicated period. The financial crisis which erupted in East Asia in 1997 has reminded us that on the road to globalization there are brambles as well as flowers and that blind copying of the experience of the developed countries and advancing rashly will only bring about retrogression. International speculative capital has resorted to all kinds of manipulative tricks and both international agencies and domestic monitoring departments have been helpless in front of them. This has cautioned us that the developing countries are faced with a more treacherous environment in their opening to the outside and the fragile developing economic entities are particularly vulnerable. It is essential, therefore, to really enhance macro-control and the capability to respond to crisis. The bursting of the bubble of the new economy has shown us that technological progress must be backed up by firm market demand. And setting store by market demand means facing squarely the present living conditions of the majority of people and their demand for development. A robust recovery has been elusive in the U.S. economy and the economies of other countries will plunge into long-term stagnation. This indicates to us that a unipolar world economy entails tremendous risks whereas multipolarization means more engines added to world economy. Nowadays the gap between the poor and rich countries is widening. Under the influence of globalization, the income gap within a country may also further widen. This warns us that technological progress and economic growth will not necessarily bring about social progress. Disturbance arising from poverty will undermine the growth and stability of the rich countries and the despair of the poor the accumulation of wealth of the rich. The development of the society and the promotion of globalization should be more equal and fair. Such social order and international order are worth cherishing and pursuing by each member of the society and each country.
This is the true picture interdependence has presented to us. Through exchange and division of labor, interdependence may bring about the multiplying of wellbeing, yet through contacts and contamination, it may magnify risks. The Zhuhai Declaration urgently calls that efforts must be made to create a fairer and more rational international economic order to enable every country to fully master the opportunities offered by globalization. At the same time, globalization should be orderly so as to prevent the developing countries from going astray in the jungle of globalization.
Interdependence should be a more equal one between each member of the society and each country. Interdependence is not dependence of the backward, weak and small countries on the advanced, strong and big powers. It is extremely dangerous for the developed countries to monopoly for ever their technological and economic advantages over the less developed ones. Along with the surge of the developing countries, we do not wish to see the revival of trade protectionism and frictions. The superiority of the developed countries in competition lies in their efforts, through the adjustments in industrial structure, to continue taking the lead in the new race. Structural adjustments will naturally entail a relatively heavy price in a short period, but this is the necessary road to Nirvana, the rebirth of the phoenix after its death. The developing countries should learn how to take appropriate measures to respond to the challenges posed by globalization, including pursuing steady and prudent macro-economic policies, rooting out poverty at home, boosting government's capability in management and enhancing the vitality of the system. These measures should be supported and encouraged by other countries in the world and international organizations.
Interdependence should mean a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Globalization has facilitated economic growth and the increase of wealth and fostered the ability of mankind to take from nature. Unlimited taking from nature will damage the harmony between mankind and nature, so going against natural laws will make mankind itself suffer from the revenge of nature. Globalization is not limited to economic globalization and it includes also the globalization of environmental pollution, ecological deterioration and infectious diseases. The emerging of these global problems requires the stepped up cooperation between the countries to jointly protect our unique earth. The global market may possibly be part of the issue, but it may also be part of the answer. Market economy is tainted and it should be greener.
Interdependence signifies the common development of the joint community of mankind. Terrorism and ethnic discrimination are evil monsters that have flown out of the opened Pandora's box of globalization. Compared with the exchanges in commodities, the communication of ideas is much more difficult. "Returning violence for violence" will only make the earth more bleak and desolate and underneath poisonous fangs of hatred are buried deeper. Civilizations are not the source of conflicts which stems from people's selfishness, prejudice and ignorance. Estrangement gradually evolves into indifference and indifference into hatred, which is what we should get rid of fundamentally. Attaching importance to the development of humans and dialogue between civilizations are conducive to the setting up of lasting world peace and encouraging greater and more brilliant cultural creations.
In a short period of more than 20 years, China's economy marched from "self-reliance" to opening to the outside and China has become an important player on the world political and economic stage. In recent years in particular, world economy has been for the most part stagnant while, in the vast gloom, China's economy has become a bright spot arresting people's attention. In 2002, China's economy grew by 8 percent. In 2003, despite the shocking impact of the SARS outbreak, the country's economy has forged ahead steadily. The annual direct foreign investment in China has topped $50 billion, making the country the biggest capital recipient in the world. Since its accession to the WTO, China has actively honored its commitments undertaken for joining the world body, which has been highly appraised. More and more people have firm confidence in China's economy.
Currently, China is integrating itself in global economy with increased confidence. This is a new Long March. The experience in the more than past 20 years tells us that the development of China's economy benefited from the resources and technologies introduced from abroad, China's participation in the division of labor and cooperation among the countries and the prosperous world economy and the gradual improvement of international economic order. In recent years, with its increased economic strength, China's sustained and steady growth has begun to more and more repay world economy. Although China's economic development cannot offset the gigantic negative impact of the stagnant U.S. economy, yet it will certainly mitigate the throes in the adjustments of world economy, the economies of the adjacent region in particular. In fact, from holding fast to established ways of doing things to opening the gates of the country, China, during the whole process of opening to the outside, has been rationally on the lookout for its new role in global economy and has conscientiously become a responsible country in world economy. When globalization suffered successive setbacks, China always stepped forward and shouldered its due responsibilities. The active participation of China has, to a great extent, ensured that the vessel of globalization did not run aground or go astray.
China is a big country with comparatively developed coastal regions, so it has a deep understanding of international general practices. On the other hand, with vast and backward hinterland regions, it has a keenly felt desire for economic development. China will make use of this unique status to coordinate the interests of the developed and developing countries and ensure that the development of globalization will be conducive to the prosperity and progress of the great majority of countries. China is also a country boasting an ancient oriental civilization. The Chinese traditional culture has all along stressed coexistence, harmony, tolerance and order. Under the light of traditional culture, after its rising, China will remain a moderate, magnanimous and responsible country. China will make joint efforts with all the governments, enterprises and social walks of life devoted to peace and development to create new brilliance.
(China.org.cn November 6, 2003)
Create a Fairer and More Rational International Economic Order in Interdependence
Comments on the Declaration on World Economic Development (Zhuhai Declaration) (7)
By Yu Yongding, research fellow, director of Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and He Fan, assistant director of Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Declaration on World Economic Development (Zhuhai Declaration) points out, "Under the circumstances of market economy, the countries and economic entities in the world carry on trade in commodities and services and make investment between them. Closed countries and economic entities, however, cannot effectively participate in world economy and their economic development is thus adversely affected. Therefore, all the countries and economic entities should be open to and dependent on each other and enjoy common development in accordance with the rules and regulations formulated by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization."
Globalization has changed the landscape of the world. The stage of mankind is getting bigger and bigger. Through globalization, we and unfamiliar cities and remote rural areas are more and more becoming a community of interests sharing weal and woe. The world, however, is getting smaller and smaller with people from various regions becoming the residents of the "earth village". Countries, poor or rich, big or small, are bound together more tightly by the ties of trade and investment. Globalization has also transformed the vision of the people. Each country, each place is part of the world and at the same time its center. In a scenic and open city of Zhuhai, South China, the wisdom of political, business and academic circles of various countries has converged and the Zhuhai Declaration is to be released. This declaration will convey the attention to and care about the future of a group of leading figures who keep the globe in their minds and express their common desire for peace and development.
Globalization has resulted in the ever-deepening interdependence. Commodities and capital flow more and more across boundaries and the chain of the division of labor stretches longer and longer. Very often a product has already toured the world before it is shipped out of the factory. The result of a round of World Trade Organization negotiations in Geneva may possibly have an impact on the life of farmers in rural areas of Northwest China. The ups and downs of the United States economy will invariably stir up waves in the economies of East Asia across the Pacific. It is getting more and more impossible for one country to develop economy and improve the livelihood of its population under closed circumstances. Globalization is looking for opportunities for the optimum distribution of resources throughout the world. International division of labor has permeated every piece of land on earth. The economic development of each country has been placed onto the stage of global economy. Each country needs to find the role fittest to itself, give play to its comparative advantages, integrate itself into the framework of international division of labor and excel in global competition.
The surging globalization is not only the product of scientific and technological progress and increased productivity, but also the result of innovations of system. After World War II, the establishment of the international economic order headed by the troika of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and GATT enabled world economy to march from more than 30 years of wars, hostilities and chaos to peace, cooperation and coordination. In the latter half of the 20th century, the economies of various countries competed with one another for glamour and they prospered day by day. Not only the developed countries went through a "golden era" rarely seen in history, but also the countries of planned economy attracted people's attention with their quick industrialization and the maintaining of high-rate economic growth. The newly industrialized economic entities represented by the four Asian small dragons, exerting their utmost and catching up from behind, have realized to a great extent the dream of backward countries catching up with and surpassing advanced countries. From the above historic experience we may find that a comparatively stable and fair international economic order constitutes the essential guarantee for a smooth development of globalization. And the setting up of international economic order requires the mutual understanding, communication, coordination and compromise. Big powers need magnanimity and small countries vision.
In the 21st century, globalization has entered into a more complicated period. The financial crisis which erupted in East Asia in 1997 has reminded us that on the road to globalization there are brambles as well as flowers and that blind copying of the experience of the developed countries and advancing rashly will only bring about retrogression. International speculative capital has resorted to all kinds of manipulative tricks and both international agencies and domestic monitoring departments have been helpless in front of them. This has cautioned us that the developing countries are faced with a more treacherous environment in their opening to the outside and the fragile developing economic entities are particularly vulnerable. It is essential, therefore, to really enhance macro-control and the capability to respond to crisis. The bursting of the bubble of the new economy has shown us that technological progress must be backed up by firm market demand. And setting store by market demand means facing squarely the present living conditions of the majority of people and their demand for development. A robust recovery has been elusive in the U.S. economy and the economies of other countries will plunge into long-term stagnation. This indicates to us that a unipolar world economy entails tremendous risks whereas multipolarization means more engines added to world economy. Nowadays the gap between the poor and rich countries is widening. Under the influence of globalization, the income gap within a country may also further widen. This warns us that technological progress and economic growth will not necessarily bring about social progress. Disturbance arising from poverty will undermine the growth and stability of the rich countries and the despair of the poor the accumulation of wealth of the rich. The development of the society and the promotion of globalization should be more equal and fair. Such social order and international order are worth cherishing and pursuing by each member of the society and each country.
This is the true picture interdependence has presented to us. Through exchange and division of labor, interdependence may bring about the multiplying of wellbeing, yet through contacts and contamination, it may magnify risks. The Zhuhai Declaration urgently calls that efforts must be made to create a fairer and more rational international economic order to enable every country to fully master the opportunities offered by globalization. At the same time, globalization should be orderly so as to prevent the developing countries from going astray in the jungle of globalization.
Interdependence should be a more equal one between each member of the society and each country. Interdependence is not dependence of the backward, weak and small countries on the advanced, strong and big powers. It is extremely dangerous for the developed countries to monopoly for ever their technological and economic advantages over the less developed ones. Along with the surge of the developing countries, we do not wish to see the revival of trade protectionism and frictions. The superiority of the developed countries in competition lies in their efforts, through the adjustments in industrial structure, to continue taking the lead in the new race. Structural adjustments will naturally entail a relatively heavy price in a short period, but this is the necessary road to Nirvana, the rebirth of the phoenix after its death. The developing countries should learn how to take appropriate measures to respond to the challenges posed by globalization, including pursuing steady and prudent macro-economic policies, rooting out poverty at home, boosting government's capability in management and enhancing the vitality of the system. These measures should be supported and encouraged by other countries in the world and international organizations.
Interdependence should mean a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Globalization has facilitated economic growth and the increase of wealth and fostered the ability of mankind to take from nature. Unlimited taking from nature will damage the harmony between mankind and nature, so going against natural laws will make mankind itself suffer from the revenge of nature. Globalization is not limited to economic globalization and it includes also the globalization of environmental pollution, ecological deterioration and infectious diseases. The emerging of these global problems requires the stepped up cooperation between the countries to jointly protect our unique earth. The global market may possibly be part of the issue, but it may also be part of the answer. Market economy is tainted and it should be greener.
Interdependence signifies the common development of the joint community of mankind. Terrorism and ethnic discrimination are evil monsters that have flown out of the opened Pandora's box of globalization. Compared with the exchanges in commodities, the communication of ideas is much more difficult. "Returning violence for violence" will only make the earth more bleak and desolate and underneath poisonous fangs of hatred are buried deeper. Civilizations are not the source of conflicts which stems from people's selfishness, prejudice and ignorance. Estrangement gradually evolves into indifference and indifference into hatred, which is what we should get rid of fundamentally. Attaching importance to the development of humans and dialogue between civilizations are conducive to the setting up of lasting world peace and encouraging greater and more brilliant cultural creations.
In a short period of more than 20 years, China's economy marched from "self-reliance" to opening to the outside and China has become an important player on the world political and economic stage. In recent years in particular, world economy has been for the most part stagnant while, in the vast gloom, China's economy has become a bright spot arresting people's attention. In 2002, China's economy grew by 8 percent. In 2003, despite the shocking impact of the SARS outbreak, the country's economy has forged ahead steadily. The annual direct foreign investment in China has topped $50 billion, making the country the biggest capital recipient in the world. Since its accession to the WTO, China has actively honored its commitments undertaken for joining the world body, which has been highly appraised. More and more people have firm confidence in China's economy.
Currently, China is integrating itself in global economy with increased confidence. This is a new Long March. The experience in the more than past 20 years tells us that the development of China's economy benefited from the resources and technologies introduced from abroad, China's participation in the division of labor and cooperation among the countries and the prosperous world economy and the gradual improvement of international economic order. In recent years, with its increased economic strength, China's sustained and steady growth has begun to more and more repay world economy. Although China's economic development cannot offset the gigantic negative impact of the stagnant U.S. economy, yet it will certainly mitigate the throes in the adjustments of world economy, the economies of the adjacent region in particular. In fact, from holding fast to established ways of doing things to opening the gates of the country, China, during the whole process of opening to the outside, has been rationally on the lookout for its new role in global economy and has conscientiously become a responsible country in world economy. When globalization suffered successive setbacks, China always stepped forward and shouldered its due responsibilities. The active participation of China has, to a great extent, ensured that the vessel of globalization did not run aground or go astray.
China is a big country with comparatively developed coastal regions, so it has a deep understanding of international general practices. On the other hand, with vast and backward hinterland regions, it has a keenly felt desire for economic development. China will make use of this unique status to coordinate the interests of the developed and developing countries and ensure that the development of globalization will be conducive to the prosperity and progress of the great majority of countries. China is also a country boasting an ancient oriental civilization. The Chinese traditional culture has all along stressed coexistence, harmony, tolerance and order. Under the light of traditional culture, after its rising, China will remain a moderate, magnanimous and responsible country. China will make joint efforts with all the governments, enterprises and social walks of life devoted to peace and development to create new brilliance.
(China.org.cn November 6, 2003)
China Internet Information Center
China Internet Information Center
Integrating for a Stronger Asia
The second annual conference of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BTF) successfully concluded on Monday at Bo'ao, a picturesque town on southernmost China's Hainan Province.
With the theme of "Asia Searching for Win-Win: Development through Co-operation," the two-day meeting brought together more than 1,200 delegates from all over the world, including current and former heads of state and government, entrepreneurs and scholars, providing a high-level venue of dialogue for them to discuss economic, social, environmental and other related issues in Asia.
Raising Asia's voice on the world arena, the forum can undoubtedly contribute to the continent's ongoing regional integration process and the interaction among its members and between the region and the rest of the world.
The accelerated regional integration process in Asia has promoted the establishment of Bo'ao forum that is aimed to facilitate ever-growing economic co-operation among its members and between members and non-members.
Asia has become the locomotive of the world economy since the turn of the 21st century. The growth rate of trade in the region is continuously increasing, the total volume of trade currently accounts for one quarter of the world total; its value of foreign exchange reserve remains high and has exceeded half of the world total.
However, compared with the European Union and North America, Asia is lagging behind in regard to regional integration due to historical, cultural and religious factors.
Asia does have some sub-regional institutions, such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Shanghai Co-operation Organization. But it lacks a regional economic organization that covers the whole continent.
Based on mutual trust and mutual benefit, closer co-operation between Asian nations is the only way to create a win-win situation for the development of this region.
With the acceleration of the globalization process, Asia cannot rejuvenate in isolation from the rest of the world.
To persist in openness and co-operation with the rest of the world is a must for Asia.
A prosperous and stable Asia, in turn, will contribute to the peace and development of the world.
(China Daily November 4, 2003)
Integrating for a Stronger Asia
The second annual conference of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BTF) successfully concluded on Monday at Bo'ao, a picturesque town on southernmost China's Hainan Province.
With the theme of "Asia Searching for Win-Win: Development through Co-operation," the two-day meeting brought together more than 1,200 delegates from all over the world, including current and former heads of state and government, entrepreneurs and scholars, providing a high-level venue of dialogue for them to discuss economic, social, environmental and other related issues in Asia.
Raising Asia's voice on the world arena, the forum can undoubtedly contribute to the continent's ongoing regional integration process and the interaction among its members and between the region and the rest of the world.
The accelerated regional integration process in Asia has promoted the establishment of Bo'ao forum that is aimed to facilitate ever-growing economic co-operation among its members and between members and non-members.
Asia has become the locomotive of the world economy since the turn of the 21st century. The growth rate of trade in the region is continuously increasing, the total volume of trade currently accounts for one quarter of the world total; its value of foreign exchange reserve remains high and has exceeded half of the world total.
However, compared with the European Union and North America, Asia is lagging behind in regard to regional integration due to historical, cultural and religious factors.
Asia does have some sub-regional institutions, such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Shanghai Co-operation Organization. But it lacks a regional economic organization that covers the whole continent.
Based on mutual trust and mutual benefit, closer co-operation between Asian nations is the only way to create a win-win situation for the development of this region.
With the acceleration of the globalization process, Asia cannot rejuvenate in isolation from the rest of the world.
To persist in openness and co-operation with the rest of the world is a must for Asia.
A prosperous and stable Asia, in turn, will contribute to the peace and development of the world.
(China Daily November 4, 2003)
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