China Will Complement, Not Supplant
The Belt and Road Initiative is not meant to supplant the existing international order, but rather to complement it.
Dec 14, 2018
Shanghai FTZ: A Symbol of China’s Opening-up
Forty years ago, it was inconceivable that China could completely transform itself from agrarian-based to the world’s second largest economy in such a short period of time. However, it has drastically transformed through its commitment to continuous reforms and gradual opening up policies. In the last 40 years, China has witnessed the fastest economic growth in human history. Its average annual GDP growth was close to an impressive 10 percent year-on-year until 2014. Per-capita income increased from US$155 in 1978 to a whopping US$7,590 in 2014: a 40-fold increase, that helped lift 700 million people above the poverty line. This economic transformation begun in 1978, when China’s former Leader, Deng Xiaoping realized that the economic progress of the country could be accelerated by opening up the economy and following the export-led model. In order to realize this dream, he had set up several special economic zones across China. These zones not just attracted overseas investments but also facilitated the adoption of new technologies and management ideas, thus transforming them into export hubs. This watershed policy of inclusive growth and opening-up proved to be a game-changer for the nation. In order to further deepen Deng’s original reforms, Shanghai’s first pilot free trade zone was set up in September 2013 to bring new opportunities to the country. The Shanghai FTZ, since […]
Dec 10, 2018
Opening Up a Chinese Miracle
This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. Just as Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in the report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese people today are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever before of making national rejuvenation a reality. The major reasoning for President Xi’s statement is China’s achievements over the past 40 years. In 1978, China’s per capita GDP stood at only US$155, and more than 80 percent of its population lived in rural areas. At that time, China’s imports and exports accounted for only 9.7 percent of the country’s total GDP. Essentially, 90 percent of the country’s GDP was not related to the international economy. However, over the 40 years since China’s historic reform and opening up, the country’s GDP has averaged an annual growth rate of around 9.5 percent in comparable prices. In human history, never has a country with such a huge population and weak foundation been able to realize such a high-speed and long-term growth. It is more than appropriate to call China’s progress over the last 40 years a “China miracle.” In the 1980s and 1990s, almost all developing countries, socialist countries included, carried out reform and opening up. However, instead of prosperity, these reforms caused economic collapse, […]
Dec 10, 2018
Xi’s Speech Helps Steer World Economy in the Right Direction
It won high recognition from the leaders at the summit and attracted wide attention from the international community.
Dec 4, 2018
How Long Can India’s Balancing Act at G20 Continue?
It is clear that India once again plays a balancing act at the G20 summit. The question is how long it can continue this balancing act against the backdrop of increasingly fierce geopolitical competitions.
Dec 3, 2018
G20 Faces A Challenging World Amid Rising Nationalism
We can probably be confident of strong progress in education, and substantial advances in health over the next few decades. There are, however, major question marks over domestic and international economic policy.
Nov 30, 2018
Diplomacy for Mutual Prosperity
President Xi takes a hands-on approach and attaches importance to overseeing the details of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Nov 30, 2018
Xi Jinping’s Historic Visit to Spain: A Trip 13 Years in the Making
The visit concluded with various agreements that stand to enhance the bilateral relationship in political, economic, geo-economic, educational, scientific, and business fields.
Nov 30, 2018
The Role of the G20 in Fostering Sustainable Growth Through Green Finance
The multilateral commitment to promoting sustainable growth through green finance by the G20 is increasingly important at a time when US President Donald Trump is reversing previous efforts by the United States to lead the agenda.
Nov 30, 2018
China-Spain Ties Have “‘Never Been Broader or Deeper’ as Today”
China and Spain’s relationship has never been purely about economics. Their strong historical ties, cooperation on people-to-people exchange and their joint efforts to protect wildlife have created a relationship that, according to President Xi, “has never been broader or deeper as today”.
Nov 29, 2018
A Glimmer of Hope for a Negotiated End of the Trade War
Although some White House officials are playing down the likelihood of the meeting producing a positive outcome, Trump appears to have toned down his intransigence and cracked the door open to a possible deal.
Nov 27, 2018
Cool Heads Needed as Preparations Intensify Ahead of Xi-Trump Meeting
Beijing’s momentous effort over the last month has seen Washington’s position significantly shift, resulting in Trump and his team returning to the negotiating table.
Nov 23, 2018