China Development Forum Focus on Change of Growth Pattern

The China Development Forum is underway in Beijing. Designed as an annual platform for business and academic leaders to interact with China's top decision makers and economic planners, the theme of this year's event is "the ongoing transformation of China's growth pattern". Yao Yongmei reports.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang keynotes the Forum's opening ceremony. He stresses that China's economy is now at a new starting point, facing both new historical opportunities and unpredictable risks and challenges. To improve the quality and efficiency of its economic development is the key for the country's economy to sustain a sound and robust growth momentum:

"To do that, we need both an efficient macro-economic control and a sound market mechanism. China will give more play to the fundamental role of market in resources allocation. We will adhere to the strategy of increasing domestic consumption by encouraging start up businesses and increasing public services, employment and people's disposable income."

Li Keqiang says though China is now the world's second largest economy, it's still lagging behind in terms of industrial sufficiency and scientific innovation. He says China is committed to developing an economy driven by science and innovation by relying more on scientific progress, fostering new emerging industries and boosting its service sector.

Angel Gurria, the Secretary General of OECD, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, points out the core challenges in China's economic transformation:

"First, the environmental challenge. Reducing carbon emissions is a high priority shared by the Chinese government and the global community; Second, the inequality challenge. Income inequality has been growing across regions and across income groups. China is no exception."

According to Professor Joseph Stiglitze, a Nobel Laureate from Columbia University in the United States, one impressive aspect of China's economic strategy is that it's willing to change as the circumstances change:

"China has benefited enormously from globalization, but economic models and ideas that worked well in the past may not work well in the future, there is changing economic circumstances, changing global picture. In the aftermath of great recession, the global economic order is clearly changing, it's also providing new perspectives. "

Other key topics discussed at this year's forum also include international economic outlook, fiscal policy and public finance reform, better social security system and strategic emerging industries for economic restructuring.

For CRI, I'm Yao Yongmei.