2024 Understanding China Conference｜How Does China Impact the World?

南方财经全媒体记者李依农 杨雨莱广州报道

The 2024 Understanding China Conference just wrapped up today. Since it started back in 2013, this conference has become a key platform for building global awareness of China’s development strategies. This year’s focus was on China’s ongoing reforms and how they’re shaping the future of shared prosperity.

How do we understand China, a nation with such vast geography and rich culture? How do China’s reforms impact the world, and what role will it play in global cooperation? Let’s hear from experts from China and abroad.

China is Driving Global Cooperation

Wolfgang Schüssel, the Former Chancellor of Austria

To understand such a huge nation like China with 1.4 billion people and so many provinces, so many different nationalities is not easy. But I think such a conference helps to get a better glimpse, a better insight of how China is thinking, feeling, what are the priorities, what are the visions from the government, but also from the participants, with a lot of academics, professors, very interesting people. And I think such a conference is a starting point for helping us to negotiate in a better prepared way to solve existing problems that we spoke this afternoon.

China and Europe, we are the big partners now supporting the international organizations, WTO, United Nations, World Health Organization, etc. We are the guarantees for a multilateral order. We should do much more to solve the climate crisis, to solve the problems which are connected with the use of artificial intelligence, the exploration of space and the oceans. I think there are so many areas where we should cooperate. I think it's just a starting point, a good conference.

China is a shining example for modernization. China was a very poor, huge country. In today it’s the second largest economy in the world. So I think there is no need to discuss it. This is the reality.

Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister of Belgium 

The title (of the conference) says that it should continue to reform until the end. I'm not a strong believer that the reform has ever come to an end, but it is indeed important to deepen reform and to continue the reform. And I think in terms of the continuation of reform, the crucial aspect for China is to transit from a very rapid, massive double-digit economic growth to a more sustainable, quality-based, technology-based, and service-based economic development. 

I think that China has cutting-edge capacities and also the resources to serve the global economic development in the field of greening the economy and in the field of technological ICT-driven development. Over the last decades, China has undoubtedly been the engine of economic progress worldwide. China reentering the global economy, opening up, reforming has given the possibility for other parts of the globe to continue their economic progress and development. So China is really a vital part of the global economy. When China fares well, the whole of the world fares well.

So first it is very important to me that we witness that China has a vision for the future that the 3rd Plenary Session of the 20th CCCPC has decided on new reform packages and will implement them. I remember that long before the concept was invented here in China of the Silk Road and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that I signed on behalf of my region, an agreement with the COSCO on developing a case in the port of Antwerp to strengthen the logistical role of Belgium in relation with the Chinese economy. So I think it's a nice example where you create win-win opportunities between a Western economy and China, and I am still very proud that I was part of that process.

What is most impressive, of course, is the pace of development, is the speed at which China is developing from an agricultural rural-based economy at the beginning of the 1980s, till now, which is transitioning through the factory phase, industrial phase, to now a cutting-edge technological developed economy. 

China's Impact on Global Growth

Chi Fulin, the President of China Institute for Reform and Development

I have been engaged in reform for 40 years. From the time I accompanied the People's Republic of China through its reform and opening up process, I deeply understand that without reform and opening up, there would be no modern China. Without reform and opening up, there would be no historic changes we see today.

China’s modernization must rely closely on reform and opening up. Only through comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up can the success of Chinese-style modernization be achieved. This can accelerate the modernization process of China. This is particularly important.

For foreigners, it might be like this: We should tell them that China’s reform is not just China's voice, but also the world's voice. The purpose of China’s reform is to serve development and to serve the modernization process of China.

Our reform in China for the next ten years by 2035, aims to achieve economic development goals. We are facing a transformation, whether in industrial structure, consumption structure, or urban-rural structure. There is at least a 10% – 15% space for improvement.

If this improvement can be achieved, it will be an important condition for China to maintain a growth rate of 4.5% – 5.5%. For the global economy, China’s new production and value will contribute 25% – 30% to global growth. This is a significant benefit for the world.

What’s more important is that during this transformation process, China will create a market-oriented, internationalized, and rule-of-law-based business environment This is even more beneficial for global openness.

Therefore, Chinese reform is beneficial to the world. At the same time, China’s reform also needs the world. China’s reform success benefits the world. This will enable China’s vast market to become part of the global landscape. I also emphasize autonomous openness and unilateral openness. Our autonomous and high-level unilateral opening up will expand further. From visa exemptions to industrial opening, to bilateral and multilateral cooperation. This promotes global free trade and helps foreigners better understand China. Also to share the benefits brought by China

So, I believe that unilateral openness is a major strategic choice for China. It represents a significant breakthrough in our high-level opening, and an important adjustment for China’s future transition from a major country to a global power and a strong nation.

I believe that with 10 or 20 years of unilateral openness, China will certainly gain strategic initiative and historical initiative in responding to the profound changes unseen in a century, and contribute to the world. This process reflects China’s values and development. China will become a truly contributing global power.

Peter Jungen, the Chairman of Peter Jungen Holding GmbH

I think the basic idea, "Understanding China Conference" is a great idea to hold this here in the Pearl River Delta. This is where it all started. I think the important idea is not just understanding China but also understanding each other. And people say that's the basis for building up trust. So I think an event like this one is very helpful, particularly under present circumstances.

The opportunity of this opening up means basically open markets, means market economy and means let people do what they can do best. The restless and endless search for the new. That's the key to a market economy. And produce new knowledge through scientific research and the new knowledge is converted into new products and services. So you could simply say opening up means basically you have new ideas, new knowledge and turning money into new knowledge. Once you have gained new knowledge, you use that to produce new services and products.

The second part of the innovation is turning knowledge back into money. That is something entrepreneurs must find out. The government can't do that. The government can make decisions, but mostly government decisions about economic issues are not very stable, and we have a lot of examples of that. I think we should leave that to the entrepreneurs. And this is not one entrepreneur who makes decisions but the thousands of millions of them. And this is the way how progress can finally materialize by using the ideas and new solutions found by entrepreneurs. And particularly through new entrepreneurs that is through startups, through people who start a business and to solve problems with society otherwise cannot solve.

The first time ever in my life, I was in China, I traveled by train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, to the fair. And that was the early 1970s, I think it was exactly 1970. And so I have an emotional relationship already. And the conference basically is a part from that. The conference now could even take place in Europe. Why not have an "Understanding China Conference" in Europe? And why not then have an "Understanding Europe Conference" in Guangzhou or in Beijing or in Shanghai or wherever? I think the other doing this on a mutual basis would be maybe a good idea.

It's clear that while the 2024 Understanding China Conference may have ended, the journey of understanding China continues. The dialogue and exchanges between China and the world will only grow stronger as we move forward.

Chief Producer: Yu Xiaona

Supervising Producer: Shi Shi

Editor: Li Yinong

Reporter: Li Yinong, Yang Yulai, Li Yuan

Video Editor: Li Qun

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi, Huang Daxun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

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Produced by: Southern Finance Omnimedia Group