Ban Ki-moon: Chinese economy is shifting towards high-quality growth

China is switching its economy towards high-quality growth and prioritizing “new quality productive forces” driven by innovation and sci-tech progress, said Ban Ki-moon, former UN secretary-general and now chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).

Speaking to Xinhuanet at the ongoing 2024 BFA Annual Conference, Ban also lauded China’s role in promoting world economic growth and common development.

Themed “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities,” the Forum is being held from March 26 to 29 in Boao of south China's Hainan Province.

The following is the full content of the interview:

Xinhuanet: Since assuming the chairmanship of the Boao Forum for Asia in 2018, how do you evaluate the role of the forum in promoting Asian economic integration, exchanges and mutual learning, as well as promoting Asian countries to work together to address challenges in climate, energy, security and trade protection?

Ban Ki-Moon: 23 years ago, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, Asian people aspired to effectively address the common challenges in the future. Hence the necessity came to establish a kind of a “forum for Asia” that could bring Asian countries together, build consensus, explore solutions and inspire policies and actions. The ultimate purpose would be to achieve Asian economic integration. An economically integrated Asia, they believe, is not only the firewall against similar crises, but also the best way to promote economic development and well-being in each and every Asian country.

For the past 23 years, the Boao Forum for Asia has put forward many valuable proposals in putting together Asian consensus, promoting cooperation among all parties, enhancing economic globalization and building a community with a shared future for mankind. It has played an important role in strengthening exchanges and cooperation among Asian countries and other parts of the world, ultimately promoting Asian economic integration.

Innovation, health, culture, education, media and economic security appear high on the much-expanded agenda of the BFA. Each spring, the annual conference in Boao brings together more than 2,000 world-renowned participants, including presidents, prime ministers, ministers, heads of international organizations, CEOs, economists, scientists and technology pioneers for a four-day extensive, in-depth and forward-looking grand brainstorming on the most pressing issues in Asia and the world.

Xinhuanet: Despite global economic slowdown, the macroeconomic fundamentals of Asian economies are still generally good and have shown strong resilience. Many believe Asia remains the major driving force behind world economic recovery. What is your opinion and what do you think Asia’s economic integration can bring to the world?

Ban Ki-Moon: On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, and the world's largest free trade area officially set off. This marked a historic step to re-boost Asia’s economic growth after the COVID pandemic. Against the backdrop of multiple obstacles posed to the multilateral trading system, RCEP has greatly improved the level of intra-regional trade facilitation, and is constantly showing the dividends of intra-regional trade and investment opening up.

Asian countries have also demonstrated solidarity in the face of crisis and extended a cooperative spirit to one another. And quite a few Asian countries are front-runners in digital technology and digitalization of the economy. Asia is now developing as one of the most dynamic, most vigorous regions with huge potential to be tapped across the world, and the region will not only remain the growth locomotive of the world, but promises to be a more integrated economic powerhouse.

Xinhuanet: What do you think of China’s role in powering world post-pandemic economic growth? How do you see the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent years?

Ban Ki-Moon: In the past year, when the world economy was recovering slowly and protectionism was on the rise, China and other developing countries stayed committed to anchoring development issues and promoting international cooperation, injecting impetus into world economic growth and common development. As the world’s second largest economy, what China does and will do is of global significance.

There are many notable signs that China is switching its economy from high-speed growth to high-quality growth, and it is encouraging “new quality productive forces” to boost and transform into a more innovation-driven, balanced, inclusive, green and open development, dependent more on scientific and technological progress.

A series of major initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping are in line with the general trend and aim to promote win-win cooperation among partners, so that people can achieve peace, mutual respect and common prosperity under the mechanism of multilateralism. Only by upholding genuine multilateralism can we better respond to the growing number of global challenges and safeguard global security.

Xinhuanet: In recent years, new breakthroughs have been made in the frontier fields of global scientific and technological development such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In your view, how should Asian countries embrace scientific and technological innovation and respond to the risks and challenges posed by scientific and technological development?

Ban Ki-Moon: We are in a world of great changes. Perhaps one of the most dramatic and fundamental changes is the looming technological revolution. Though not sure when, where and how this technological revolution will take place, one thing is certain: we’re on the cusp of it. Today, several technological advances have risen to the fore and reshaped the way we work and live. AI, big data, quantum computing, new materials, renewables and life sciences are indispensable part and parcel of our life and economy, playing an increasingly important role. Someday, in the not-too-remote future, they will combine into a technological revolution that fundamentally changes the world and our future.

There is no bucking the trend. Wise people do not resist changes, but adapt to and utilize them. Technological revolutions in the past centuries have disrupted the old and traditional, but generated the new and the better. All technological revolutions have brought unprecedented material progress and well-being to mankind. This looming technological revolution we’re looking forward to will be no exception.

There is no underestimating the risks and challenges coming along with it. Our planet is getting increasingly “small” as the world gets more and more interdependent and interconnected. Living in this increasingly interconnected world, we're all in the same boat and our future is shared. There is no alternative to cooperation. The zero-sum game must not be our option and give way to win-win. Only through win-win cooperation and concerted efforts can we effectively cope with the challenges that come along with the new revolutionary technologies and make better use of the technologies to the benefit of humankind. The fundamental sense of human beings should be kept.