China Hailed as Good Example of GlobalizationBeijing is an ideal venue for discussions on globalization as China embarks on further promoting economic development and reducing poverty, Sven Sandstrom, a senior World Bank official, said on June 14.Addressing the "21st Century Forum", statesmen and economists, including Sandstorm who is executive vice-president of the World Bank, agreed that China has successfully integrated itself into the global economy due in no small part to over twenty years of rapid economic growth. They said the Chinese experience is a good example for many other developing countries. According to Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, China has witnessed great changes since the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping initiated economic reform and the open-up policy in late 1978. He said China's foreign trade volume accounted for 36 percent of its GDP now as against 36 percent in 1978. Statistics show China's average annual economic growth in the past two decades was 9.8 percent, the fastest growing economy in the world. China is the second largest foreign investment country after the United States. Poverty was reduced from 250 million in 1978 to 42 million in 1998. The social and economic development in China and other parts of Asia has benefited from economic globalization. John Malcolm Fraser, former Australian prime minister, said that China has provided a key example of how to keep economic stability when it succeeded in fighting devaluation of Renminbi during the Asian Financial Crisis. Addressing the opening ceremony of the forum, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said China will continue to open up fully to the rest of the world in the coming decade. With China's entry into the WTO pending, China will further become an economic global power and gradually further expand its industries including commerce, foreign trade, finance, insurance, securities, telecommunications, and tourism, said the Chinese premier. He said China encourages foreign investment in agriculture, infrastructure, environmental protection and high-tech industries. Investment in foreign countries by Chinese enterprises is also encouraged to promote foreign trade exchange and cooperation between China and other countries. |
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